Latest news with #Hollioake
The Advertiser
14-06-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
'Hurt locker' Hollioake hunts debut Cairns Ironman win
After announcing herself as a new star of Ironman triathlon, Australian Regan Hollioake is now acutely aware of what can happen when race day goes wrong. The 35-year-old from Ballarat is one of the leading favourites for Sunday's Ironman Cairns, which she is racing for the first time. Hollioake will also make her debut in October at the Hawaiian Ironman world championships - triathlon's most famous race - and has come to Cairns fresh from a three-week training camp at the Kona race site. Since turning professional last year, Hollioake has won Ironman Australia at Port Macquarie as well as the New Zealand and Malaysia Ironman races over the 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42.2km marathon run format. Then, in late April, she raced Ironman Texas and, as Hollioake explains it, "I got a little wrapped up in the race". Hollioake made the fatal mistake of not paying attention to her race nutrition and hydration, crucial for the eight-plus hours of an Ironman. She does not remember starting the run. Her kidneys shut down and the Australian passed out 13km into the marathon. "I woke up in the medical tent," Hollioake told AAP. "Some really hard and tough lessons learned, but some really valuable lessons ... I paid the price. "The lessons you learn in Ironman are big ones - there are no easy lessons." But Hollioake recovered quickly and medical tests showed no lasting ill effects. "It was a bit confronting ... I got away with that one," she said. Now to Cairns, which is part of the Ironman Pro Series and boasting a top international field. It will be a crucial stepping stone for Hollioake ahead of Kona. The training camp was her first visit to the Big Island and she immediately understood why the Hawaiian Ironman is such a big deal. "I can see why it's really hard to get right, that race. It's such an extreme climate and the course is brutal," she said. "But I really enjoyed it. I quite like getting in the hurt locker and just staying there." Hollioake also is determined to return to top form with a big result in Cairns. "I'm really, really excited for this race. I've never been in better condition in terms of physically, but also emotionally ... I'm really confident in the fact that I've done everything I can," she said. "You definitely need to have your head in the game for the race at hand. But in the back of your mind, there's always Kona being the big goal," she said. "We're all business for Cairns on Sunday. "I don't know what I'm capable of, but I keep surprising myself." New Zealander Hannah Berry will defend her title and Australian Kylie Simpson is a two-time Cairns champion, while Queensland-based Dutch star Lotte Wilms and American Jackie Hering are other prominent names. The men's race will feature three-time winner Braden Currie from New Zealand, rising Australian star Nick Thompson and American long-distance gun Matthew Marquardt. After announcing herself as a new star of Ironman triathlon, Australian Regan Hollioake is now acutely aware of what can happen when race day goes wrong. The 35-year-old from Ballarat is one of the leading favourites for Sunday's Ironman Cairns, which she is racing for the first time. Hollioake will also make her debut in October at the Hawaiian Ironman world championships - triathlon's most famous race - and has come to Cairns fresh from a three-week training camp at the Kona race site. Since turning professional last year, Hollioake has won Ironman Australia at Port Macquarie as well as the New Zealand and Malaysia Ironman races over the 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42.2km marathon run format. Then, in late April, she raced Ironman Texas and, as Hollioake explains it, "I got a little wrapped up in the race". Hollioake made the fatal mistake of not paying attention to her race nutrition and hydration, crucial for the eight-plus hours of an Ironman. She does not remember starting the run. Her kidneys shut down and the Australian passed out 13km into the marathon. "I woke up in the medical tent," Hollioake told AAP. "Some really hard and tough lessons learned, but some really valuable lessons ... I paid the price. "The lessons you learn in Ironman are big ones - there are no easy lessons." But Hollioake recovered quickly and medical tests showed no lasting ill effects. "It was a bit confronting ... I got away with that one," she said. Now to Cairns, which is part of the Ironman Pro Series and boasting a top international field. It will be a crucial stepping stone for Hollioake ahead of Kona. The training camp was her first visit to the Big Island and she immediately understood why the Hawaiian Ironman is such a big deal. "I can see why it's really hard to get right, that race. It's such an extreme climate and the course is brutal," she said. "But I really enjoyed it. I quite like getting in the hurt locker and just staying there." Hollioake also is determined to return to top form with a big result in Cairns. "I'm really, really excited for this race. I've never been in better condition in terms of physically, but also emotionally ... I'm really confident in the fact that I've done everything I can," she said. "You definitely need to have your head in the game for the race at hand. But in the back of your mind, there's always Kona being the big goal," she said. "We're all business for Cairns on Sunday. "I don't know what I'm capable of, but I keep surprising myself." New Zealander Hannah Berry will defend her title and Australian Kylie Simpson is a two-time Cairns champion, while Queensland-based Dutch star Lotte Wilms and American Jackie Hering are other prominent names. The men's race will feature three-time winner Braden Currie from New Zealand, rising Australian star Nick Thompson and American long-distance gun Matthew Marquardt. After announcing herself as a new star of Ironman triathlon, Australian Regan Hollioake is now acutely aware of what can happen when race day goes wrong. The 35-year-old from Ballarat is one of the leading favourites for Sunday's Ironman Cairns, which she is racing for the first time. Hollioake will also make her debut in October at the Hawaiian Ironman world championships - triathlon's most famous race - and has come to Cairns fresh from a three-week training camp at the Kona race site. Since turning professional last year, Hollioake has won Ironman Australia at Port Macquarie as well as the New Zealand and Malaysia Ironman races over the 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42.2km marathon run format. Then, in late April, she raced Ironman Texas and, as Hollioake explains it, "I got a little wrapped up in the race". Hollioake made the fatal mistake of not paying attention to her race nutrition and hydration, crucial for the eight-plus hours of an Ironman. She does not remember starting the run. Her kidneys shut down and the Australian passed out 13km into the marathon. "I woke up in the medical tent," Hollioake told AAP. "Some really hard and tough lessons learned, but some really valuable lessons ... I paid the price. "The lessons you learn in Ironman are big ones - there are no easy lessons." But Hollioake recovered quickly and medical tests showed no lasting ill effects. "It was a bit confronting ... I got away with that one," she said. Now to Cairns, which is part of the Ironman Pro Series and boasting a top international field. It will be a crucial stepping stone for Hollioake ahead of Kona. The training camp was her first visit to the Big Island and she immediately understood why the Hawaiian Ironman is such a big deal. "I can see why it's really hard to get right, that race. It's such an extreme climate and the course is brutal," she said. "But I really enjoyed it. I quite like getting in the hurt locker and just staying there." Hollioake also is determined to return to top form with a big result in Cairns. "I'm really, really excited for this race. I've never been in better condition in terms of physically, but also emotionally ... I'm really confident in the fact that I've done everything I can," she said. "You definitely need to have your head in the game for the race at hand. But in the back of your mind, there's always Kona being the big goal," she said. "We're all business for Cairns on Sunday. "I don't know what I'm capable of, but I keep surprising myself." New Zealander Hannah Berry will defend her title and Australian Kylie Simpson is a two-time Cairns champion, while Queensland-based Dutch star Lotte Wilms and American Jackie Hering are other prominent names. The men's race will feature three-time winner Braden Currie from New Zealand, rising Australian star Nick Thompson and American long-distance gun Matthew Marquardt.
Perth Now
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
'Hurt locker' Hollioake hunts debut Cairns Ironman win
After announcing herself as a new star of Ironman triathlon, Australian Regan Hollioake is now acutely aware of what can happen when race day goes wrong. The 35-year-old from Ballarat is one of the leading favourites for Sunday's Ironman Cairns, which she is racing for the first time. Hollioake will also make her debut in October at the Hawaiian Ironman world championships - triathlon's most famous race - and has come to Cairns fresh from a three-week training camp at the Kona race site. Since turning professional last year, Hollioake has won Ironman Australia at Port Macquarie as well as the New Zealand and Malaysia Ironman races over the 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42.2km marathon run format. Then, in late April, she raced Ironman Texas and, as Hollioake explains it, "I got a little wrapped up in the race". Hollioake made the fatal mistake of not paying attention to her race nutrition and hydration, crucial for the eight-plus hours of an Ironman. She does not remember starting the run. Her kidneys shut down and the Australian passed out 13km into the marathon. "I woke up in the medical tent," Hollioake told AAP. "Some really hard and tough lessons learned, but some really valuable lessons ... I paid the price. "The lessons you learn in Ironman are big ones - there are no easy lessons." But Hollioake recovered quickly and medical tests showed no lasting ill effects. "It was a bit confronting ... I got away with that one," she said. Now to Cairns, which is part of the Ironman Pro Series and boasting a top international field. It will be a crucial stepping stone for Hollioake ahead of Kona. The training camp was her first visit to the Big Island and she immediately understood why the Hawaiian Ironman is such a big deal. "I can see why it's really hard to get right, that race. It's such an extreme climate and the course is brutal," she said. "But I really enjoyed it. I quite like getting in the hurt locker and just staying there." Hollioake also is determined to return to top form with a big result in Cairns. "I'm really, really excited for this race. I've never been in better condition in terms of physically, but also emotionally ... I'm really confident in the fact that I've done everything I can," she said. "You definitely need to have your head in the game for the race at hand. But in the back of your mind, there's always Kona being the big goal," she said. "We're all business for Cairns on Sunday. "I don't know what I'm capable of, but I keep surprising myself." New Zealander Hannah Berry will defend her title and Australian Kylie Simpson is a two-time Cairns champion, while Queensland-based Dutch star Lotte Wilms and American Jackie Hering are other prominent names. The men's race will feature three-time winner Braden Currie from New Zealand, rising Australian star Nick Thompson and American long-distance gun Matthew Marquardt.
Telegraph
18-03-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Adam Hollioake: I lost my best mate, my brother and my money – nothing can hurt me now
Two days into his new job as Kent's head coach and Adam Hollioake is still adjusting to the bare necessities, such as working out how much fuel is left in his company car. 'This is the poshest car I've ever driven, much posher than the one I have in Oz,' he says of his Honda hybrid as, rather worryingly, the fuel gauge reads zero miles left and we're stuck in rush-hour traffic on the way to him dropping me off at Canterbury West station. 'You know what, I reckon the last time I was in Canterbury the tree was still there,' he says referring to the lime tree on the outfield that fell down in a storm in 2005. 'Maybe, I've been back once since then, dunno.' He did indeed play one T20 game at Canterbury in 2007 during a brief return to county cricket when he played eight games for Essex but, as he works through his jet lag and battles with the city's ring road, you can understand why memories are a little hazy. A chat with Hollioake never lingers that long on the cricket, even though he has one of the game's sharpest brains. Before staff putting chairs on tables closed up the Oriole cafe at Canterbury cricket ground and shooed us into the traffic, Hollioake was happy to 'go deep' with the conversation because his life has encompassed so much else apart from playing or coaching around the world: boxing, MMA cage fighting, a sports psychology PhD and working with bereavement charities. 'In the space of 15 years, or something like that, I lost my best mate [Surrey wicketkeeper Graham Kersey] in a car accident, I lost my brother in a car accident, and I lost all my money in a failed property development venture so then I was fighting in a cage to earn money. 'I was like: 'God, what else are you gonna give me? Just leave my children alone.' I can deal with anything else because I've had to deal with some big things early in life, so I don't see what can hurt me now, apart from, as I say, leave my kids alone.' He calls the succession of bereavements 'exposure therapy'. He coolly says he is 'not scared of dying myself'. He has come to terms with mortality because it has smacked him in the face. 'I've seen it, lost enough people myself to know it's going to come to all of us. I lost Graham Thorpe last year, lost eight of the team I played with over the years, guys like Joey Benjamin, Danny Kelleher from Kent, who was my flatmate, lost my brother, Tom Maynard, Graham Kersey, and Nick Peters, who was my best mate at Surrey.' Even though he speaks openly about his losses, it is only when asked. He believes there is a fine line between talking and letting it dominate too much. 'There's been poor advice telling men to talk about their problems. They don't give you a guide on how to do that. So I notice a lot of men go out there and talk to everyone who will listen about their problems all day, every day. And then what do you end up doing? And it's no fault of their own, they just end up ruminating and affirming their problems themselves. If you spend 50 per cent of your day talking about your problems, you're going to go around feeling sad. So I think you've got to control that. 'And that applies to many elements of life within a team. If the team sits around complaining about biased decisions or whatever then they get good at whatever they practise. If I practise being a negative d---, then if I do that, all right, I'll be good at being a negative d---. So you got to talk about and affirm what it is you want to be.' In 2003 I interviewed Hollioake's father, John, when Ben's loss was still very raw. He said that Ben would appear to him in visions. Adam is different. 'He reckons he still does and probably a week does not go by without us having an in-depth chat about it. I think, I've probably had only three or four dreams about him, which is odd, because I spend the vast majority of my time thinking about him more than anyone, other than living people. I just can't summon him up. I've spent my time making things happen in sport, but I'm a terrible medium.' It is an intriguing appointment, and you cannot help but think Kent players will benefit from someone who has been around the block, rather than graduating from player to coach through the England and Wales Cricket Board system. 'I'm a man. I face my mistakes and try to learn from them. That's all you can do. Any experience when you do well at something is good but you gain more out of things you f--- up and I've done plenty of that as well.' The cage fighting is over now – 'mate, I'm 53!' – but he looks like he could jump in the ring and his reputation for being one of the hardest men in the game might put a few on edge. 'The public perception of me is that I'm some sergeant-major type, an angry, dictatorial leader because of the fighting, but I'm pretty relaxed… until I'm not.' It took a while for Hollioake to find coaching. He moved to Perth when he retired from Surrey in 2004, then to Queensland. His property company collapsed owing £10 million to creditors, including Alec Stewart (they remain firm friends and talk weekly). He was declared bankrupt and had only his playing pension for income. He turned to boxing, earning about £600 per bout to pay the food bills for the family. He drew his first cage-fighting bout, and then gradually returned to cricket and business. He has since coached in Afghanistan and worked with England, Queensland and Pakistan before ending up at Kent. He was recently with Andrew Flintoff's Lions team in Australia. This is his first head coach role and he takes over a Kent side who finished bottom of Division One of the County Championship and bottom of their group in the Vitality Blast. He has a job on his hands. 'We won a lot when I was at Surrey but I don't get caught up in wins and losses. I just get caught up in attitude. I want our side to be the best at all the things that require no talent, so that's time-keeping, discipline, hard work, attitude, all those things. They require zero ability. They just take effort. They don't offer a championship for that, but we can award it to ourselves if we feel we deserve it. Then wins and losses will take care of themselves.' Hollioake has a house in Canterbury and his 18-year-old son is staying with him for the summer, so he feels at home already. Kent's campaign begins with an away championship match against Northamptonshire, pitting him against Darren Lehmann, proof the second division probably has bigger-name coaches this year than it does players. 'My kids are getting to an age now where they're more self-sufficient, and I wanted to try and do something for myself now. I've got a bit more time to sort of follow my dreams again.' Hence a Surrey man joining neighbours Kent, but then again as a kid with an Australian accent playing for England, crossing boundaries is nothing new. 'You know what? I hated all the counties when I played for Surrey and every side hated us, so wherever I ended up was always going to feel weird.' We made it to the station, and when I later checked if he had enough fuel to get home he replied: 'Still haven't got any yet. Will see how I go in the morning,' and added a laughing emoji. After everything that has happened, running out of petrol is nothing.
