CurraNZ ambassador shoots to UK No1 and seventh in the world

IN just her first year in a senior vest on the world athletics stage, British CurraNZ ambassador Holly Mills, has rocketed to UK No1 and seventh in the world in Pentathlon. 

She took the notable scalp of the current world champion, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, in Austria in May, when performing superbly to achieve her highest-ever score in the prestigious Gotzis two-day competition. 

Fourth at the World Indoor Senior Pentathlon Championships earlier this year, her brilliant form in 2022 has earned her a place on the GB team at the Commonwealth Games. 

We recently spoke to Holly (right) about how CurraNZ has helped with the huge demands of her training and its competition advantage.

She says: "It’s all about the extra 1% and CurraNZ gives me that. I find them really useful for training – I can complete more and push myself further, meaning I’m getting the biggest possible gains out of my sessions - and they are really good before a big running or bike session. 

"On competition days, I increase my dosage so I can perform at my best."

In Austria, she recorded a superb gun-to-tape performance in the 800m, stopping the clock in 2:08:07 and taking her to a new personal best of 6,260 points and fourth UK all-time.

It was a transformation for Holly, who in some previous competitions, had been struggling with fatigue in this particular event. We worked out Holly needed to redose again two hours before the race, to ensure the anthocyanins were peaking to coincide with the demands of the 800m.  

She says: "Topping up on CurraNZ for this event has definitely made an impact and I’m now seeing big gains in my 800m performances, with several new PBs.

"Overall, I've now seen my 800m improve from 2:24 to 2.08 in the last five years." 

Recovery is also imperative for Holly, who trains several times a day. With Pentathlon involving five events and Heptathlon involving seven, recovery in competition is crucial to success. 

She says: "I have seen a definite change in my body since I started using Curranz in 2017 and am better able to deal with the demands of Heptathlon training.

"In terms of recovery, I feel less fatigued before and after each session and find I’m that little bit more ready to go for the next session.

"Fast recovery is key for my multi-day competitions and they help me through the battle of two days of Heptathlon.

"Looking back to when I was still only doing one event – long jump – then introducing CurraNZ about the time I switched to Heptathlon, I feel that thanks to CurraNZ I have been able to recover better, even with the higher demands of multi-event training, than back to when I was just doing a singular event.

"I’ve used Curranz for five years now and I think it’s safe to say they will be staying in my kit bag for the rest of my career."

Holly Mills record, 2021/22 

2021- European U23 Championships Heptathlon bronze 

2022- World Indoor Senior Championships Pentathlon fourth 

2022- Gotzis Heptathlon - Sixth  

World rankings (all ages, as at July 2022)

Pentathlon - 1st in UK, 3rd in Europe, 4th in world 

Heptathlon- 1st in UK, 1st in Commonwealth, 6th in Europe, 7th in world. 

Pentathlon PB score - 4673 (UK 4th all time) 

Heptathlon PB score - 6260 (UK 6th all time)