Great Britain pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw is set to represent her country at the Paris Olympics, ‘for the final ever time,’ as she wrote in an Instagram caption. Emotions and pride seem to engulf the veteran, who is off to her fourth Olympic appearance. But who says her journey was easy? With her passion for climbing the pole as an Olympian one last time, she bravely fought her Achilles troubles, glandular fever, hamstring tears, wisdom tooth infections, and one of her broken back bones!

But alongside her determination, there was someone who held her hand throughout this journey. Not only for this once, he seems a ‘Team Holly’ loyalist for life. That would be Holly Bleasdale Bradshaw’s husband, aka her rock-solid support system.

Meet Paul Bradshaw, Holly Bradshaw’s husband!

Great Britain national Paul Bradshaw is Holly’s husband and a former international athlete. A rather seasoned sportsperson himself, his experiences include running for both England and Great Britain in the 800m category. Until he re-coursed his path towards the coaching stream. In September 2015, Paul joined Stratford College as a sports lecturer, allowing him to divulge his knowledge to the next generation of athletes.

Paul identified his inclination for sports at the age of 15, when he onboarded a local athletics club for guided learning. Trying out multiple variations like the 100m and javelin, he ultimately narrowed it down to the 800m event, as suggested by one of his coaches. “I’d say the highlights of my career were 2007-2012” he once said. For those were the years when he shined at the collegiate level and made the cut for the European Championships as part of Team Great Britain.

Besides his athletic prowess, Paul is also an ardent supporter of his wife. Apparently, he accompanied Holly to Rio de Janeiro for her second-ever Olympics. After recurrent injury issues, she managed to attain full fitness for this meet. Thus, Paul ensured to be right by her side before the pole vault events could commence. Well, if you think this is the most aww-worthy moment in their love story, then you’re probably wrong. Wait till you read about the proposal!

When Paul proposed to Holly

It was back in 2012 when Paul popped the question to Holly, who then accepted his proposal. Well, the timing, occasion, and celebrations—everything was just spot on! Holly had just made her mega Olympics debut at the London Games in 2012 and ended up finishing upsettingly low on the table. A sixth spot was something she was expecting to settle with. But there was something else she could hardly foresee coming, which instantly veered the low spirits into a romantic high!

Just hours after her Olympics failure, Paul proposed to her for marriage, and she said yes. It’s surprising how that transformed her ‘heartbreaking moment’ into one for a lifetime. Announcing this over social media, Paul took to his X handle and tweeted, “I have just proposed to @HollyBleasdale and she said yes!!!!! Best day ever!” His happiness truly comes alive as he calls it the best day he’s ever had. Following suit, Holly does the same as she tweets, “6th in the Olympics and @bradshaaaw proposes to me 🙂 epic day!!!”

Well, London may not have been lucky for her in terms of a medal victory, but it did win her the love of her life. And a partner to share the ups and downs of her journey with. What do you think of this adorable story? Let us know in the comments section below!