Javelin thrower Arnold named in GB squad for World Para Athletics Championships

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Javelin thrower Hollie Arnold MBE has been named in the Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad for the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships.

The world championships, the first to be held since 2019, are being held in Paris between July 8 and July 17.

The competition take place little over year before the 2024 Paralympic Games, which will also be held in Paris.

Speaking of her selection, Arnold, 28, said she was “incredibly proud and honoured” to be competing at her sixth world championships.

She added: “It’s crazy to think the last time I wore the GB kit for a world championships was back in 2019.

“But luckily the world of sport is getting back to normal and this time we can have crowds again to fill the stadium.”

Originally from Grimsby, Arnold, who was born without her right forearm, lived in Ystrad Mynach as a teenager.

Th 28-year-old has competed in four Paralympic Games, having won gold with two record-breaking throws in Rio De Janeiro in 2016.

In 2008, Arnold became the youngest member of the GB Paralympics team in Beijing, aged just 14.

In 2010, she took silver at the IWAS World Junior Championship and then won gold at the 2011 Championship. The same year, Arnold represented Great Britain at senior level, competing at the IPC Athletics World Championships, where she won bronze in the F46 javelin.

She then went on to compete at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, before winning in Brazil four years later.

Arnold was made an MBE in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List, in recognition of her achievements.

She went on to win gold for Wales at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, breaking the world record yet again with a 44.43 metre throw.

In 2020, she was a contestant on I’m a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here, which was held in Gwrych Castle in Abergele, Conwy, instead of its usual location in Australia due to the pandemic.

Head of Paralympic Performance at UK Athletics, Tom Paulson, said: “It is an important stage in the cycle leading into the Paralympic Games, so with just over a year to go until the games, this will be a good indicator for athletes and their support teams as they continue their journey to Paris 2024.”