Back Yourself
There are so many inspiring stories flooding every platform this week as we watch the world's best compete at the Olympics.
Here in Aotearoa we’ve celebrated succcesses like those of Sarah Hirini, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, Theresa Setefano and Stacey Waaka who are now two-time World Cup winners and double Olympic champions following the Black Ferns Sevens’ gold medal win at the Paris Olympics!
They also have a World Cup Sevens gold and a Commonwealth Games title (NZ Herald). That only happens as a result of dedication, discipline, guts and surrounding yourself with the right people.
The stories behind the athlete’s success, where we learn about their character, background, discipline, ambition and who supports them are equally as compelling as the tallies of medals and other objectively impressive results.
One story has stood out this week, that of British rower Lola Anderson. If you know the founding story of Holdmine, you’ll soon see why this resonated.
Her 14 year old self had written in her diary an ambition "My name is Lola Anderson and I think it would be my biggest dream in life to go to the Olympics in rowing and if possible win a gold for GB", which she quickly tore out and put in the bin, and had no clue that her father later found it and kept it.
Seven years after she wrote that note, shortly after he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, he gave it back to her. He said he wanted her to have it “as a reminder and a memento that even when you don't back yourself, your parents and loved ones always do", Anderson recounted.
Lola Anderson, Georgie Brayshaw, Hannah Scott and Lauren Henry won Great Britain’s first-ever gold in the women’s quad rowing, after winning against the Netherlands with the tiniest margin. This crew came to Vaires-sur-Marne as reigning world and European champions, having unleashed a sprint finish to beat the Netherlands by a whisker at the 2023 World Championships and in Paris, they stormed over the finish line in the final seconds of the race to win Gold by just 0.15 seconds!
Her father wasn’t able to be there to watch her as he sadly passed away in 2019, months after passing her that note, but she knew just how much he believed in her and expressed that her dad "saw the potential I had, but my potential wouldn't have been unlocked without the girls that crossed the line with me today" (Sky Sport). Her win was both about honouring her ambition, and those who love and support her.
While not all of us can achieve a Gold medal in rowing, we can all be ambitious about the things we care about, and we absolutely all can be loud and proud supporters of those we love as they strive for their goals
Read the full article on Lola, her father’s belief in her, and her team’s win here: https://www.bbc.com/sport/rowing/articles/cd1xvv0rwqqo
Melissa’s father Grant (the main inspiration for her founding Holdmine) also encouraged her to think big, pursue her dreams and was such a cheerleader for her.
She has the words ‘back yourself’ which he often said to her, tattooed o
n her wrist over the scar of a radial break from a horse riding fall in 2011. A reminder to both believe in yourself, and get back on the horse when life knocks you about.
