Tony Holness is an advocate for neurodiversity and Triathlon coach to his autistic son. After a successful career in IT and Banking Tony left the corporate world to help his son realise his dream of becoming the world’s first Ironman Triathlete with autism to compete and the Ironman World Championships in Kona and to become the world’s first openly autistic Professional Triathlete.
Sam was diagnosed with autism at three years old and was non-verbal until he was six years old. The prognosis from the education psychologist and some of his teachers was that he may never speak and that we should set low expectations for his social, communication and academic future.
Sam challenged these perceptions and achieved a BSc degree in Sports Science, grade 2.1, from St Mary’s University and is the world’s first openly autistic triathlete to compete at the half-ironman world championships in Utah in 2021. Our next challenge will be his first full-ironman race at the European Championships in Frankfurt in June 2022.
Tony and Sam want to raise the awareness of autism and change perceptions about what autistic people are capable of through sport.
Ted Talk: Overcoming Adversity with Sport