My name is Sam Holness and I am a triathlete. I didn’t plan to become a triathlete; I would have been happy spending my days playing computer games and watching quiz shows on TV. The journey to becoming a sports person wasn’t easy - but there are many things in life that are not easy for autistic people. I had to learn to swim, run and ride a bike. I am sure you appreciate that everyone has to learn the process of swimming and riding a bike, but learning to run, no, surely everyone can run? Not true. The biggest issue for people with autism doing sport are our weak motor skills. During my first track session I ran like a duck out of water waddling around, unable to coordinate my legs and my arm running action successfully. Come to think of it, I had to be a duck out of water because I was able to swim before I could talk at six years old, and only learned to run properly 14 years later.  

Now, I train for three to four hours each day and regularly compete in races in the UK and Europe. My favourite race was in Portugal where I cycled around the Formula One track at Estoril. 

On 15 October I will be running a marathon around my local area and raising funds for Mencap. This is a cause I am supporting as I wish to use my platform as a sports person to raise awareness of Mencap their work supporting people with a learning disability to live healthy and fulfilling lives. 

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