Ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony later today, Holly Hill, associate director at protection advice firm John Lamb Hill Oldridge, speaks to Health & Protection about how London 2012 inspired her to take up rowing, medalling in major competitions, making the Tokyo 2020 team but missing out and overcoming that disappointment to build a career in the world of protection insurance.
Inspiration of London 2012
“The London Olympics was my inspiration,” Hill (pictured) says.
“I watched Helen Glover and Heather Stanning win a gold medal at the London Olympics which was Team GB’s first gold medal of the games.
“And I thought that they were a bit more muscley than me but a broadly similar height. So I thought rowing looks quite fun.”
Some further internet research piqued Hill’s interest, she adds.
“There was a scheme being advertised which said: ‘Are you tall and lanky? Would you like to have a go at rowing?’ so I thought, why not?” she continues.
“I’d done a lot of sports, I was very fit, but I’d never rowed before, I just thought it looked quite good fun.
“Then I did an assessment and they said: ‘Congratulations you are very tall and lanky. Would you like to come and get into a boat?’ And it was great because they paired you with a GB coach from day one.
“I had a really lovely coach called Peter who said: ‘You’re a bit late to the game here but you could go to the Olympics if you try, if you jump in.’ And so we jumped in together and it was great.”
Success on the water and Tokyo 2020
Jumping in proved fruitful as Hill’s years on the water would see her win bronze and silver at the Under 23 World Championships, as well as adding a European silver medal and a World Cup bronze in the women’s pair at senior level.
Such success meant Hill was selected among Team GB’s rowers for the Tokyo Games in 2020.
“I was in Team GB for the 2020 Olympics but it got postponed for a year and I got ill,” Hill says.
“So I didn’t end up taking my place which was horrendous – but whatever – time has passed now.”
Entering the world of protection
Hill explains she always had one eye on her next career move – even while competing.
“I stopped competing and got into protection,” Hill continues. “I was looking for a job at the tail end of when I was rowing but I had stopped when I took on a role.
“I think when you love rowing and all you want to do is win an Olympic gold medal, it’s the best job in the world.
“For me, because I was ill and I had the experience of not going to the Olympics, I think I was ready for a different challenge.”
After deciding to end her rowing career, Hill needed to turn her hand to another career and the one she chose incorporates her interest in finance and law.
“Insurance is a weird interplay between the two because you are essentially offering financial solutions to a legal problem,” Hill explains.
“It’s what I do anyway. I do a lot of insurance for inheritance tax and so I work with a lot of private client lawyers and I like the personable nature of insurance.
“I’m very people-focused, I like people, I find them interesting and working with them and helping them.
“And life insurance, protection in general is very people-focused. The client comes to you with a problem, you have to solve it for them and you’re making their lives easier as a result.”
Lessons from the water
And Hill, who was promoted to associate director earlier this year, says she takes lots of lessons from her time on the water into her career at work.
“I think protection is the same in that I work as part of an advisory team, so it was not just the protection specialist that is involved a lot of the time, you’re also working with a client’s other advisers and you have to come up with a solution that works best for the client,” Hill continues.
“And that’s the same as you would do for the boat.
“You’re not just an individual in a rowing boat. You have to work to modify yourself a little bit, to get the best out of everyone around you and make the boat the project in the same way if you prioritise the client, you prioritise the boat.
“So it’s an adaptability I guess.”
Hopes for Team GB rowing medals
And in terms of her top hopes for Team GB gold at this year’s Games, Hill adds: “My tips for Team GB gold are the men’s four definitely and the women’s four could be pretty fast and also the men’s eight.”