My Road to the Summit with Emil Holm
As we approach one of the biggest international sporting events on the calendar, we’re talking to Argon 18 athletes who have qualified for Paris to hear about their training, goals, and inspiration along the way. Read on to hear from Danish triathlete Emil Holm.
Argon 18: What’s your main goal in Paris?
Emil Holm: Well, I’m nowhere near being a podium contender. My best result at this level of racing is 14th (which is really good for me). What I’d like is to play a role in the race and make it memorable! Try to make people hurt on the Champs-Élysées!
Last year in the test event I made a few mistakes - I lost a lot of time in T2 because of this, and the first part of the run… but I’ve learned from that. I want to race a “perfect” race this year.
Argon 18: What was the biggest challenge you faced along the way to Olympic qualification?
Emil Holm: I’m sort of a late bloomer in my triathlon career, so the biggest hurdle has been getting into the right races where I could score points towards the Olympics. But I’ve had a crazy last year with some really good results. The highlight was finishing 5th at the European Championships, which gave me a massive confidence boost. But that high ended fast when I crashed on my bike a few days later (first crash since junior Euro Champs in 2015). I hurt my knee fairly badly and didn’t train for two weeks in the middle of the season! Fortunately, it hasn’t really affected my form overall.
Argon 18: How is Olympic prep different from other major events? Do you have a different approach, different training location or partners?
Emil Holm: The short answer is NO! I’ll have the same approach as any other race, the only main difference is that the build-up is going to be slightly longer, as my last race before Paris is at the end of May.
Argon 18: What are your major milestones/events in the lead-up to Paris? What results are you hoping to see?
Emil Holm: I have quite a few major events coming up, actually: in five weeks I’m racing four Olympic distances races in China, Japan, Uzbekistan and Italy… I hope to finish around top 10 in all of them.
Argon 18: What advice can you offer young athletes hoping to one day represent their country at the Olympic level?
Emil Holm: This will be a very cliché answer: Take your time, it’s one billion precent worth the wait!
And enjoy every moment! I’ve never regretted a session or race no matter how badly it went. Also, never compete with your training mates; have shared goals and celebrate each other’s successes.
