Sam Holness– "I hope that my story helps inspire others from neurodiverse backgrounds to try endurance sports"

MF meets Ironman World Championship finisher Sam Holness, who reveals his dream of becoming the first openly autistic professional triathlete...

Flying over the Ironman World Championship finish line in Kona, Hawaii, earlier this month was “the greatest day” of Sam Holness’ life. The 29-year-old completed the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run in 13 hours and 15 minutes – a key step, he hopes, on his quest to become the world’s first black professional triathlete with autism.

The Kona race was only his second Ironman – his first having been completed in Frankfurt in June. And afterwards, the Londoner “felt pretty cool” – in spite of temperatures “hotter than Jamaica” and intense humidity on the marathon’s hilly route. Though a dodgy stomach set in, he finished up with “no injuries, no pain, no DOMS [delayed onset muscle soreness],” all of which has made him more focused on his next goal of hitting a sub-11-hour finish time in 2023.

It’s an ambitious target. But Sam, who only began triathlons five years ago, is by now well-versed in those. He never considered himself a natural at sport, learning to ride a bike at 14 and beginning running after leaving university, where he graduated with a 2:1 in Sports Science. A decade after his first cycle, he completed his first triathlon, with a half-Ironman following two years later.

Mastering swimming, running and cycling has been life-changing for Sam. And the pursuits perfectly complement the skillset of the neurodiverse, says Tony Holness, his father and coach, as “sport is about repeating, mastering and then delivering.”