Hollie Beth Arnold, (born 26 June 1994) is a British parasport

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

competing in category F46 javelin. Although born in Grimsby, she now lives and trains in Loughborough. She represents Wales in the Commonwealth Games. Arnold was the youngest ever field athlete to ever compete in the Paralympics/Olympics, at the age of 14 at the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

in Beijing throwing a personal best. She also threw a personal best in

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

in London. She took the gold medal in the F46 javelin in the

2016 Rio Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

, also throwing a new world record at the same time. In 2021, at the delayed

2020 Tokyo Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralympic ...

, she took the bronze medal in the same event. In 2018, she became the first ever Javelin thrower in history to hold all four major titles in the same Paralympic/Olympic 4-year cycle: Rio Paralympics and world record 2016, London World Championships and world record 2017, Berlin European Championships and course record 2018 and Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and world record 2018. She also holds four consecutive world titles: 2013 Lyon, 2015 Doha, 2017 London, and 2019 Dubai.

Personal life

Arnold was born in Lincolnshire in 1994, growing up in Holton-le-Clay. She was born without her right forearm. When attending a Star Track Athletics course during her Summer holidays she discovered an ability at the javelin. She joined Cleethorpes Athletic Club, but later moved to Hengoed in Wales to be near her former athletics coach. In 2017, she relocated to train with her present coach at

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

. In November 2020, Arnold took part in the twentieth series of ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' where she was the first contestant voted off the show. Arnold is an ambassador for two charities: Caudwell Children and St. Andrews Hospice, in Grimsby where she was born.

Athletics career

Her first disability sports event was at the age of 11, winning seven gold medals across several events. In 2008, at the age of 14, she was selected to represent Great Britain at the Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing, finishing 11th in the women's F42-46 javelin. She was the youngest member of the 2008 Great Britain team. The next year she won her first significant medals when she competed in the 2009

IWAS The International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) is an international sports organisation that governs sports for athletes with physical impairments. IWAS is a registered charity with its headquarters located at Aylesbury Colleg ...

World Junior Championships in Switzerland, winning silver in the F46 discus and bronze in the F46 javelin. 2009 was the last year Arnold competed at championships in discus, concentrating fully on the javelin. The following year she improved on her javelin medal when she took silver at the 2010 IWAS World Junior Championship and then took gold at the 2011 Championship which was held in Dubai. The year 2011 saw Arnold step up to the senior level representing Britain at the IPC Athletics World Championships in New Zealand; she finished third in the F46 javelin, taking the bronze medal. In 2012, she took the silver medal at the IPC Championships. Her personal best at F46 javelin was recorded at 35.88m in June 2012 at the Welsh Championships in Cardiff, ranking her as the world number two in her event going into the 2012 Paralympics. Arnold's personal best was increased at the

in London with a throw of 36.27m. On 22 July 2013, Arnold competed in the IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon. She won gold with a winning throw of 37.45m, furthering her personal best. In 2014, Arnold was preparing for the buildup to the IPC Athletics European Championships in Swansea, hoping to improve on the silver medal she won in Stadskanaal two years prior. With only a few weeks to the event, Arnold was informed that due to a lack of competitors her F46 event had been removed. Her next chance for a major international medal came at the

2015 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. The event was the 7th edition of what is now known as the World Para ...

in Doha, where she threw a championship record distance of 40.53 to retain her gold medal. In September 2016, Arnold won the gold medal at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

in Rio de Janeiro with a world record throw of 43.01 metres. She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to field athletics. In April 2018, Arnold won the gold medal with a world record throw of 44.43 metres at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

in Gold Coast, Australia, where she represented Wales. In June 2021 she was among the first dozen athletes chosen to represent the UK at the postponed

2020 Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralympic ...

in Tokyo.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Hollie 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Grimsby British female javelin throwers British disabled sportspeople Welsh female athletes Welsh Paralympic competitors Welsh people with disabilities Javelin throwers with limb difference Paralympic javelin throwers Sportswomen with disabilities Members of the Order of the British Empire Paralympic athletes of Great Britain Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Wales Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants