Robinson anticipating good throw

PARALYMPICS

HOLLY Robinson will be more excited than most at the track in Auckland tonight.

The Taieri Paralympic javelin thrower put on her best performance of the season in her last competition at the end of January.

Then she broke her finger at training.

She has not competed since then, but will make her return at the Sir Graeme Douglas International Meeting tonight alongside many of the country’s top athletes.

That should provide a good leadin to next weekend’s national championships.

While she has not been competing, she has found ways to adapt and train through the injury.

Given she has only one hand, it had more of an impact on her — both in athletics and in general life — than it would for most.

However, she had been adapting to that for her whole life and this was just another adaptation.

She is hoping to carry on the form she showed on her outing, when she threw a handy 41.85m.

It was the first time she had thrown more than 40m since the national championships in March last year.

While those early season performances had been frustrating, Robinson said it was a case of sticking at it.

She had been making changes, and trusting that things were going to come together had been important.

It had been equally frustrating to get injured just as that happened, but that looked to be behind her now.

‘‘The first half of our season wasn’t really where we wanted it to be,’’ Robinson said.

‘‘But we’d changed a lot of things so it was just a matter of time and patience until they showed through.

‘‘After Christmas those things started to really fall into place — I threw 41.85m my last competition.

‘‘I was really happy with that and excited because I knew lots of things were coming together.

‘‘It’s pretty annoying, but I was throwing pretty well so I’m looking forward to tomorrow night and getting out and competing.’’

Robinson, who is working three days a week as a teacher aide at Sara Cohen School, remains focused on the Paralympics.

She won silver in the F46 javelin in Rio five years ago, a result she matched at the world championships a year later and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Despite the past few weeks, she was happy with where she was at in preparation for the Games.

‘‘It is a pretty interesting time for us as athletes.

‘‘We don’t know what the rest of the world’s doing.

‘‘From here in New Zealand we’ve just got to plan what we can do to throw our best.

‘‘Things are ticking along quite well. I had a season’s best in my last competition and moving forward a few big competitions there that will hopefully set the scene for Tokyo.’’

❛ I had a season’s

best in my last competition and moving

forward a few big competitions there that will hopefully set the

scene for Tokyo