Townsville Bulletin - 19.03.2009

DESPITE the signs of a flu coming on, Townsville's Ashley Hollins has his mind set on a medal when he competes at the Australian track and field championships this weekend in Brisbane.

With self-belief and hard work behind him, the javelin thrower hopes he will qualify for the world championships. At 28, Hollins has made an impressive comeback to the sport, after giving it away as a teenager.

Hollins was dubbed a natural by his coaches as a junior but lack of confidence led him to give up the sport. Hollins believed maturity and the inspiration of his two boys Mathew and Nathan has allowed him to have a good crack at the sport once again. "I thrive on the sport now and I just want to keep on improving," Hollins said. "Basically, I had the potential as a junior to take it all the way – but I never actually believed it myself.

"Now I actually believe in it and I'm hungry for it.

"My two boys drive me all the way, they love everything I do and they get a real thrill out of my medals."

Focusing now on his throw on Saturday evening, Hollins said he'd prepared as best he could for the event. "Everything seems to be on track," Hollins said. "I can feel there is more improvement there, it will just depend on what I come up with on the day but everything else is going well." Dedicated training will surely provide Hollins with a good shot at qualifying – but his `big picture goal' was earning a spot at the Commonwealth Games. "I hope if I keep improving the way I am, there is a good chance of being a world championship qualifier," Hollins said. The comeback has been tough for Hollins who had to get used to the heavy training schedule of training twice a day, six days a week. His daily routine of waking every morning to work on his fitness, hours spent honing his technique and gymwork in the afternoon certainly took its toll at the start. "My body is conditioned now, but it got to me when I first started.  I've put in too much effort to bail out now." Hollins will be joined by other Townsville athletes at the nationals this weekend with Daina Surka, Kelly Humphries, Julie Smith and Matthew Cameron all competing.