Holly Bradshaw: How the pole vault star became a role model for young female athletes

The ninth series of the game changers podcast got underway with an interview with Britain’s most successful pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw.

During an inspiring conversation, Bradshaw discussed the importance of sports psychology, body confidence and clothing for female athletes, and future plans.

The Olympic bronze medallist, who grew up in Lancashire, started by describing how she got into pole vault, revealing she started the sport after “the stars aligned”.

“I’d always been like a really sporty child doing gymnastics, football, badminton, rounders – I even tried the 800 metres and cross country, just because it got me out of lessons,” she laughed.

“I started at an athletics club at the age of 14 or 15, when I was transitioning out of football and was starting the hurdles. I trained for that once a week, and then did a bit of the high jump and the shot put, wherever they needed me to make up the numbers.

“And my club Blackburn Harriers kind of thought, we’re missing a trick here. Nobody else in the whole of the North West is doing pole vault. We’re going to competitions and there’s no one doing it.

“So if we can just get some crazy girl over the opening bar, we’ll get maximum points. And I was that crazy girl.”

Bradshaw continued: “They put on six weeks of taster classes and I was there [for] every single one. Blackburn can be very brutal weather wise, so raining, windy, whatever, I was there. It just spiralled out of control from that very moment.”

The 30-year-old credited her mum for providing her with ‘gentle persuasion’ when shyness and anxiety proved to be a stumbling block.

Bradshaw explained how she had been a very nervous child, but that she had been transformed by sport.

“Sport has been amazing for taking me out