Sam Holness
Full-time Triathlete
Nicknamed “Super Sam”, Sam Holness is an Ironman Triathlete with Autism. His goal is to motivate people with autism to participate in sport, and to make them aware that autism can be a strength and a superpower.
Sam graduated with 2.1 BSc in Sports Science and won the Patrick Lawless Award in recognition of his demonstration of a high level of active enquiry and personal development during his time at St Mary’s University. His dissertation challenged teachers and coaches to develop strategies to work effectively with autistic young people to help them develop mastery of skills in their chosen sport, alongside encouraging participation.
Although not a natural at sport, Sam learned to swim to gain confidence, he started Judo to overcome his dislike of contact with people and only learned to ride a bicycle when he was 14. After university his interest in sport grew; he completed several 10k races, then his first triathlon in 2017 and his first half-ironman triathlon (1.9km swim, 90km bike, 21km run) in Portugal in 2019. Sam also participates in Superheroes Triathlon, the UK’s only triathlon for people with disabilities, every year. Sam’s dream is to complete in the World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
In his spare time, Sam cooks – his speciality is lemon drizzle cake – plays computer games, watches action movies and enjoys reading autobiographies about sports people; Mo Farah is his favourite – and also a fellow alumni of St Mary’s too.
Useful links
“Sport has enabled me to build my confidence and self-esteem and to improve my communication and social skills. I was inspired to do triathlons because I wanted to show everyone that having autism does not stop you from being a triathlete and that it may even be an advantage. I want to inspire others from a neurodiverse, differently-abled or a BAME (Black, Asian And Minority Ethnic) background to take up triathlons.”