British pole vaulter looks in great form and hopes to retain a European Indoors title she first won in 2013

On the eve of her bid for her second European Indoor pole vault gold medal, Great Britain’s Holly Bradshaw is revelling in being the favourite for a title for the first time in her senior career. Having claimed gold in 2013 and silver two years ago, she is now pushing again for that top spot despite a year of uncertainty, travel restrictions and cancelled competitions.

“It feels kind of unique and different [being the favourite],” she says. “Other than my European U23s back in 2011 I don’t feel like I’ve gone into a major ever as favourite. Especially over the last few years going into the Worlds or Olympics.

“It’s different but I’m really excited. I’ve had such a great indoor season and I feel in such incredible shape and I want to go out there and do myself justice.”

Bradshaw cleared her highest height in nine years with 4.85m on her third attempt in Rouen in early February. This is her second-best indoor title indoor or out – just 2cm behind the British record she achieved in 2012.

485 WL (for now @sandicheekspv ?) ?

I came into this competition feeling grateful, carefree and I had an absolute blast! ?

Thank you so much @PercheEliteTour for the competitive opportunity & @Meeting_Lievin for helping me prepare ? pic.twitter.com/6jbM0ficuN

— Holly Bradshaw (@HollyBradshawPV) February 7, 2021

“I feel [at my best]. It’s been a long time coming,” she says. “I had a lot of injuries four, five years ago and I’ve slowly been building in confidence. With COVID I used last year to really work hard in the gym and on other aspects of training that I wouldn’t normally work on. Coming into pre-season in October we did some new things on the track to get me fast and it’ all coming together.

“I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m so in control. I always say to my coach that I wish I could just not think about anything and this year is the first time in my career I’ve felt I can just pick the pole up and go.

“It’s all coming so naturally and it feels amazing.”

The 29-year-old claimed the title in 2013 in a jump-off for the gold with Poland’s Anna Rogowska and remains adamant her drive has not diminished but she has simply matured and learned some lessons in the intervening years.

“I look back on it and I’m a totally different athlete,” she says. “I was young and felt I was invincible and there was no question of the jump-off. I definitely haven’t lost that competitive aspect. It shaped my career in a unique way in that I have this big competitive streak. But then when I got injured that streak was killing me because I couldn’t prove to anyone that I was good.

“I had to really change my mentality to not doing it to prove to anyone else but because I love it and because I love to jump. Back then I just thought I was invincible I’m not and that was something I needed to learn.”

??? THE EUROPEAN INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS STARTS TODAY ??? Let's go GB!

To celebrate my 4th campaign, here is a little montage of my last two outings ?

2011 4.45m 11th
2013 4.67m 1st
2019 4.75m 2nd
2021…… pic.twitter.com/rgwawvnvVX

— Holly Bradshaw (@HollyBradshawPV) March 4, 2021

After a year of cancellations in 2020, Holly has also had to cope with a number of indoor meets already being cancelled this year.

“I had a meet in Stockholm and a meet in Paris that were cancelled straight off the bat and then one in France and had to pull out and then Madrid and the British Champs so that was five competitions,” she explains. “But I have been able to do three and took advantage of that. I feel lucky to travel and compete when a lot of athletes can’t so I’ve just been really grateful of those moments and tried to seize those opportunities.

“It would have been nice to not go two weeks between those two French meets but it is what it is and I’ve prepared the best I can.”

Even elite athletes travelling to events fall foul to travel delays, particularly during the pandemic. Testing, quarantine and having to prove reason for travel is something that has frustrated Holly during recent months of competition and she shared this on social media.

“For me this indoor season has been an absolute logistical nightmare. It’s hard enough to travel with poles anyway. I had to quarantine in France and pull out of my first meet because of restrictions. I didn’t get an opportunity to win the World Tour because they wouldn’t allow UK residents in and it was illegal.

“It’s been a hugely frustrating indoor season for me with not being able to do the amount of meets I wanted to. Heathrow was just the tip of the iceberg for me when I got there and there were thousands of people crammed into one passport control area. We had to queue for three hours and in the back of my mind I was thinking about competing in five days’ time and I was just standing with thousands of people not knowing.

“I’d worked so hard towards the indoor season all the way from October and taken COVID tests at every centre, not left my house except to train so I wouldn’t get COVID and it just seemed the lengths everyone was going to in order to curb the virus seemed ridiculous when we were just all shoved in this space together.

“Then I was stood at the desk and they were asking if I had proof that I was an athlete which I agree with but my bug-bare was that there were three desks open for thousands of people. Why not have 15 desks?”

Having safely landed, tested and settled herself, Bradshaw can now set aside all worries of travel and quarantine and focus on that second European Indoor gold medal that has eluded her for eight years. If her confidence is anything to go by, then she could well find herself at the top of the podium again.