Team Wales Star Hollie Arnold “Finds Magic in the Chaos” After Toughest Year of Career

Hollie Arnold said she “found magic in chaos” after returning to the global stage with a bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships in India on Saturday morning.

The six-time F46 javelin world champion had competed only once since winning bronze at last year’s Paris Paralympics having taken a break from the sport.

But Arnold returned to claim an eighth world podium place with a throw of 41.94m at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.

Apart from the 41.37m she threw at the UK Championships in August, this was the longest throw the 31-year-old had produced since 2019.

Before the championships, Arnold had spoken openly about having to take a nine-month break from competition having been on the world stage since making her Great Britain debut at the Beijing Paralympics when she was just 14.

READ MORE: Welsh Para Legend Hollie Arnold is Back . . . and Ready for More Glory in New Delhi

After claiming bronze on Saturday, the Blackheath and Bromley athlete said: "It's a real weird mix of emotions. I'm proud, there's upset, there's a million and one things.

"After Paris mental health came first for me and I just needed to take that time for myself and really understand myself.

"I didn't know if I was going to be here, this was not on my cards this year whatsoever, so to be able have very little training out here, throw pretty consistently well - I'm really proud of myself.”

Arnold added: "It's just been a really messy year, but I've found magic in chaos and I think that's something to very proud of.

"I'm not the same person I was in Paris, I'm a very different Hollie and I'm a happy Hollie. To come out here and compete, yeah, I loved it."

Arnold’s longest throw came in the first round, which saw her lead the field in the early stages.

However, Noelle Roerda of the Netherlands won the event, with a personal best of 43.74m putting her clear of Uzbekistan's Shahinakhon Yigitalieva.

Arnold’s fellow Welsh athlete Olivia Breen missed out on a place in the T38 100m final on Sunday morning.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games 100m champion finished fifth in her heat in 13.21, which wasn’t enough to see her progress.

The championships are not over for the City of Portsmouth athlete however as she will also be competing in the T38 long jump on Wednesday and the universal relay on Saturday.