30 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Major
Holly
text by MaRgaRet MIelczaReK
photogrAphy from Holly oRcHaRd
Who is Holly Orchard?
I am a fiancé, daughter, and sister and try
to be a good friend to the people around
me. I am passionate about helping people
do their best, and I have always been in
the Army. In school I did cadets, and since
year nine I have been in the uniform and
adopting the values that I still hold today.
At the moment I am the Northern
Regional Commander for the Australian
Meet
During my time in the ADF, I did my PT
(personal training) courses as I had such
an interest in becoming someone who
was able to help people with their fitness
goals, and I loved it! When I left the ADF to
become a high school teacher, I already
had my qualification and worked in a
number of gyms, which resulted in a
massive amount of job satisfaction and
close friends that I still catch up with.
Being a PT and a teacher, I have seen
the result of people being told, “you can”.
That’s what I love about my life thus far.
I have been able to help people get to
places they didn’t see themselves
getting to.What sparked your interest in
endurance sports like triathlon?
Initially my second knee surgery! I couldn’t
walk, ride or swim. My physio at the time
was a triathlete, and a work colleague of
mine invited me to do a race with the
local tri club.At just 32, Major holly orchard has done it all. She has served in
the Army, has been deployed to places like Afghanistan; she is a
qualified personal trainer and teacher, and she is a four-time
Ironman finisher – including the Ironman World Championships in
Kona, Hawaii. Inspired by her terminally ill mum and her pro triathlete
fiancé, Holly is the definition of ‘anything is possible’.
Defence Force (ADF) Investigative Service.
I look after and oversee Service Police
Investigations, as I am a Major in the Royal
Australian Corps of Military Police.Wow! Impressive. What is your
background in sport? Were you always
athletic/into fitness growing up? I’ve
read that your dad is a cyclist (in fact, a
top age group cyclist) and in the past,
you also worked as a PT. Tell us about
that and the influence that had on your
sporting pursuits.
When I was really young, my parents had
me doing ballet, Tae Kwando and
gymnastics. Moving into high school my
parents travelled on weekends as we
renovated houses, so I was never able to
play team sports except for in year 12
when I joined the local hockey team.
During school hours though I played
netball and went to our Country Week
for soccer.
Moving into the Army I dreaded running
with a passion, and I had knee surgery at
17, but I didn’t want to be left behind so
struggled through my training. During my
training, I managed to play AFL, hockey
and volleyball but running was always
an issue.