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Birmingham 2022 No.1 British heptathlete goes for gold and uses London 2012 as motivation
The Commonwealth Games in Birmingham will be special for many Home Nations athletes who take to the track, field and roads, but success for Holly Mills would be very sweet.
The 22-year-old is the No.1-ranked British heptathlete and will make her debut at the senior outdoor championships in front of an expected 30,000 sell-out crowd at Alexander Stadium when she opens her 100m hurdles on Tuesday (August 2). .
The prospect of such a biased crowd was one of the reasons why Mills took the bold decision to skip the entire World Cup, in which he had a qualifying standard, to focus on Birmingham.
“Making the decision was difficult because it’s the World Cup,” says Mills, who has no regrets about the decision. “If you had asked me two years ago I would have thought it was absolutely ridiculous, but at this stage in my career I think it was the right decision for me.
“I could go to Oregon and do well and get a medal, but for my first senior outdoor championship to be the Commonwealth Games, I need to put myself in the best possible position to win a gold medal.
“I’m definitely aiming for gold medals. To say I’d go for silver or bronze, I’d be slightly disappointed with that. We are aiming for gold this summer.”
Instead of making the nine-hour plane ride to and from Oregon, she competed in individual events in the weeks after finishing sixth at the prestigious Hypo-Meeting in Götzis with a personal best of 6,260 points.
This put Mills sixth on the UK all-time list behind Katharina Johnson-Thompson, Jess Ennis-Hill, Denise Lewis, Judy Simpson, Kelly Souderton and Holly Mills.
Sutterton happens to be Team England’s athletics squad leader for Birmingham 2022, while Johnson-Thompson is the reigning Commonwealth champion, but has not rediscovered the form that saw her win world heptathlon gold in Doha three years ago.
It’s a real turnaround for Mills after she missed out on the Tokyo Olympics by a few spots. However, it is not surprising given that the 22-year-old was just seven points off bronze in the pentathlon at the World Indoor Championships in March, her debut international championships. The performance gains are rapid to say the least.
“It’s a different experience for me [being ranked number one]Mills adds. “For the past year I have been number two behind KJT and that has definitely made me hungry to finally be at the top. After a few disappointments, winning a medal will just make all the effort people have put into me so worth it. People have put their lives on hold to help me achieve my goals.
“I think with the strength of the field, especially with the England team, we’re aiming for around 6,400 points and more. I think that would definitely put me in the mix and it’s within my capabilities.
“When I look at where I’m ranked on the all-time list for the country, the names above me make me think wow. The next time I move up the leaderboard, I’m ahead of one of these names. The feeling of having this caliber of athletes before me and now to think it’s time to carry on the British heptathlon legacy is really nice.”
Mills grew up in Andover, Hampshire, just a two-hour drive directly south of Birmingham. The prospect of a home championship is not something many athletes get in their lifetime, but the atmosphere and energy of London 2012 – the last time England hosted such a big multi-sport championship – is now motivation for Mills.
The fact that it is a decade since the Olympics is extremely special.
“My parents sent a message to everyone when the tickets were released, thinking they wouldn’t get that many, but it turned out they all got tickets for all four sessions for all four days,” the heptathlete recalled.
“The pandemic has definitely given me more perspective on the Commonwealth Games. Whereas I think I used to take all the major championships for granted. Now that they’re back, it’s going to be amazing to do it in front of crowds and I’m really looking forward to it all.”
“Knowing that the majority of the crowd will be cheering me on as an English athlete is a completely different experience. I’m used to crowds, but not with this intensity.
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