And while the 38-year-old said qualifying for this summer's Paris Games is not a priority as she “doesn't need another Olympics to cap off my career”, qualifying for the elite World Championship Series is not a priority for her. They want their rights back.
Holland, who hinted at retirement after finishing 13th at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, told the Post: People will probably say, “What do I have to prove?” Enjoy your retirement.'' But I wanted to show that I could return to a high level.
“It's really important for the next generation of girls to understand that it's possible for them to start a family and come back to play.”
Katie Zaferes, an individual bronze medalist in Tokyo and second place at the Hong Kong Games over the weekend, became a mother in July 2022. 2016 Rio Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen is a mother of two and remains a regular winner on the world circuit, with Paris her sights set.
“There are a lot of people doing it, but I grew up thinking it was impossible,” Holland said. “I never thought I would be able to start a family and make a career in sports because there was no one else playing sports and there was no provision for that.
“Now that is about to change. I had great support from UK Sport and British Triathlon throughout my pregnancy and back to racing.
“I want to go back to the World Series and show that I belong there. Maybe that's enough for me. It's going to take a big deal to go to Paris.
“Also, if I could participate in the European Championship.” [in September]And if I write down the results, I can say to my baby, “Look at what we accomplished as a family.” Then some of the other girls will realize that if they want to have kids, they can do it even if they go back to triathlon. ”
Holland, who won a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, said the two most difficult elements of combining triathlon and motherhood were “saying goodbye to my daughter” while traveling for competitions and effectively getting out of her training sessions. He said it was about recovery.
“when [Emmie] “She was younger and she was more dependent. When I was racing last year, I was still breastfeeding, so I had to pump at the airport and on the plane.” Holland said. “I thought it would be easy to say goodbye this year, but it's been hard. She's more of a person and understands that I won't be there. It's hard to say goodbye to her this time. was.
“It’s also really hard to find time to recover. I make time to train, but when I’m at home I don’t recover. [but] I'm taking care of your little one.
“That's what I want to do. She's my baby and I want to take care of her. But any parent knows that's relentless.”
The Netherlands does not explicitly rule out the possibility of competing beyond 2024. “But at this point, I probably won't continue competing,” she said.
Holland paid tribute to the “amazing course” in Hong Kong, the highlight of which was swimming in Victoria Harbor despite being involved in a “brawl” and finishing 30th. She started the final five kilometers in 37th place, but her blistering time of 17 minutes and 1 second (fastest of the 56 teams competing) moved her up 26 places to 11th.
“One of the things I’ve struggled with since coming back is top speed in my swims,” Holland said.
“When I started running, I didn't realize how far down I was. I just ran as fast as I could to see how many people I could pass. I kept thinking to myself, “You've done something much harder, so just keep running.'' Ta.
