Hollie Arnold facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Hollie Arnold
MBE

Hollie Arnold with her 2016 Paralympic gold medal
Personal information
Birth name	Hollie Beth Arnold
Born	(1994-06-26) 26 June 1994 (age 31) Holton-le-Clay, Lincolnshire, England
Sport
Country	Great Britain  Wales
Sport	Para-athletics
Disability class	F46
Event(s)	Javelin
Club	Blackheath and Bromley AC
Coached by	Scott Knighton
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals	2008, 2012, 2016, 2020
Highest world ranking	1st
Personal best(s)	Javelin 44.73m
Medal record Women's para-athletics Representing  Great Britain Paralympic Games Gold 2016 Rio Javelin throw – F46 Bronze 2020 Tokyo Javelin throw – F46 Bronze 2024 Paris Javelin throw – F46 World Championships Gold 2013 Lyon Javelin throw – F46 Gold 2015 Doha Javelin throw – F46 Gold 2017 London Javelin throw – F46 Gold 2019 Dubai Javelin throw – F46 Gold 2023 Paris Javelin throw – F46 Gold 2024 Kobe Javelin throw – F46 Bronze 2011 Christchurch Javelin throw – F46 European Championships Gold 2018 Berlin Javelin throw – F46 Silver 2012 Stadskanaal Javelin throw – F46 Representing  Wales Commonwealth Games Gold 2018 Gold Coast Javelin throw – F46

Hollie Beth Arnold, born on June 26, 1994, is an amazing British athlete. She competes in para-athletics, which is sports for athletes with disabilities. Hollie is a javelin thrower in the F46 category. This means she competes with athletes who have a similar level of arm impairment. She was born in Grimsby, England, but now lives and trains in Loughborough. When she competes in the Commonwealth Games, she represents Wales.

Hollie made history at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. At just 14 years old, she was the youngest field athlete ever to compete in the Paralympics! She threw her personal best there. She also achieved a personal best at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. In 2016, at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, she won a gold medal in the F46 javelin. She even set a new world record at the same time! At the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, which happened in 2021, she won a bronze medal in the same event.

In 2018, Hollie became the first para-javelin thrower to hold all four major titles at once. These included the Rio Paralympics (2016), London World Championships (2017), Berlin European Championships (2018), and Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (2018). She set world records at many of these events. In 2019, another athlete, Holly Robinson, broke Hollie's world record. Hollie has also won six world titles in a row! These were in Lyon (2013), Doha (2015), London (2017), Dubai (2019), Paris (2023), and Kobe (2024).

About Hollie Arnold

Hollie was born in Lincolnshire in 1994 and grew up in Holton-le-Clay. She was born without her right forearm. One summer, she went to an athletics course and found out she was really good at javelin. She joined Cleethorpes Athletic Club and started her career with the help of Shelley Holroyd, an Olympic javelin thrower. Later, she moved to Hengoed in Wales to be closer to her coach. In 2017, she moved again to train at Loughborough University.

In November 2020, Hollie took part in a TV show called I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. She was the first person to leave the show that season. Hollie is also an ambassador for two charities: Caudwell Children and St. Andrews Hospice. These charities help people in need.

Hollie's Athletics Journey

Hollie's first disability sports event was when she was 11 years old. She won seven gold medals in different events! In 2008, at age 14, she was chosen to represent Great Britain at the Paralympics in Beijing. She finished 11th in the F42–46 javelin event. She was the youngest person on the Great Britain team that year.

The next year, she won her first important medals at the 2009 IWAS World Junior Championships in Switzerland. She won a silver medal in discus and a bronze in javelin. After 2009, Hollie decided to focus only on javelin.

In 2010, she won a silver medal in javelin at the IWAS World Junior Championship. Then, in 2011, she won gold at the same championship in Dubai. Also in 2011, Hollie started competing at the senior level. She represented Britain at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships in New Zealand and won a bronze medal in javelin. In 2012, she won a silver medal at the IPC Championships.

Hollie set a personal best in F46 javelin of 35.88 meters in June 2012. This made her the world's second-best in her event before the 2012 Paralympics. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, she threw even further, reaching 36.27 meters. On July 22, 2013, Hollie competed in the IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon. She won a gold medal with a throw of 37.45 meters, which was another personal best!

In 2014, Hollie was getting ready for the 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships in Swansea. She hoped to win a better medal than the silver she got two years before. But just a few weeks before the event, she found out her F46 event was canceled because there weren't enough competitors. Her next big chance for a medal was at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha. There, she threw 40.53 meters, a championship record, and won her gold medal again.

In September 2016, Hollie won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. She set a new world record with a throw of 43.01 meters.

In 2017, she was given the MBE award for her amazing achievements in athletics.

In April 2018, Hollie won another gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. She set a new world record of 44.43 meters while representing Wales.

In June 2021, she was one of the first athletes chosen to represent the UK at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.

At the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships, Hollie won gold in the F46 Javelin Throw.

At the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships, Hollie won her sixth world title in the F46 Javelin throw. She beat Saška Sokolov and Noëlle Roorda.

At the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France, Hollie won the bronze medal in the F46 Javelin Throw.

See also

In Spanish: Hollie Arnold para niños