Christopher Robert Holder (born 24 September 1987 in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

) is an Australian

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

rider, who was the 2012 World Speedway Champion. He is also five times Australian champion (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014.

Career

Holder won the Australian Under-21 Championship in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, in addition to finishing runner-up in the Under-21 World Championship in 2007 and 2008. He started racing in the United Kingdom with the Isle of Wight Islanders in 2006. In 2007, he won the Premier League Pairs Championship partnering Jason Bunyan for the Isle of Wight, during the 2007 Premier League speedway season and was part of the Isle of Wight four who won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, held on 8 July 2007, at the East of England Arena Additionally in 2007, he rode for Atlas Wrocław in the Polish Speedway Ekstraliga. Holder won the Swedish

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

in 2007 and the Elitserien in 2008 and 2009 with Lejonen. In 2008, Holder signed for KS Toruń in Polish Ekstraliga and won the league championship. In October 2007, the Poole Pirates announced that Holder would ride for them in 2008 in the Elite League. Holder won the Elite League Championship, and became a league winner with all three of his domestic teams in 2008. Holder finished second in the 2007 Junior World Championship and was also selected to ride in the Australian team for the

2007 Speedway World Cup The 2007 Speedway World Cup (SWC) was the 7th FIM Speedway World Cup season. The Final took place on 21 July 2007 in the Alfred Smoczyk Stadium in Leszno, Poland. The tournament was won by host team Poland (55 pts) and they beat defending cha ...

, finishing in 3rd place. Holder again represented

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

in the 2008 Speedway World Cup. Holder won the Australian Championship in 2008, winning all five rounds with a record maximum 100 points. He has won the Australian Under 21 Championship for four consecutive years (2005–2008), equalling a record set by Leigh Adams. In October 2008, Holder finished runner-up in the Junior World Championship for the second year in succession to Emil Saifutdinov. After Lejonen's relegation from the Swedish Elite League, Holder changed club to Swedish champions Piraterna. In 2010 and 2012, Holder won the British Speedway Grand Prix at Cardiff's

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

. He won the

Elite League Riders' Championship The Elite League Riders' Championship is a motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps ...

, held at Abbey Stadium on 20 October 2012. On 7 October 2012 Holder became Speedway World Champion, joining

Lionel Van Praag Lionel Maurice Van Praag, George Medal, GM (17 December 1908 – 15 May 1987) was an Australian motorcycle speedway champion, who won the inaugural Speedway World Championship in London on 10 September 1936. Van Praag's victory saw him establis ...

(

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

Bluey Wilkinson Arthur George "Bluey" Wilkinson (27 August 1911 – 27 July 1940) was an Australian speedway rider. Wilkinson was Speedway World Champion in 1938 after narrowly missing out on winning the inaugural Championship in 1936. Early life Born in ...

(

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

), Jack Young (

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

), Jason Crump (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

), and Jason Doyle (

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

) as Australians who have won speedways ultimate individual prize. His season would end on a sour note however, as Poole lost the Elite League title to

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, and Holder was injured three days later during Poole's Knockout Cup semi-final against

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

. His 2013 season had started well and he was sitting in a top 3 position in the World Championship. Then in July 2013 during a British league match at

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

’s Brandon Stadium, Holder sustained serious injuries in a heat 15 crash. The injuries included a dislocated and broken hip, a broken pelvis, left shoulder and right heel, and would end his season. Holder won his 5th Australian Individual Speedway Championship title held over three rounds in January 2014, on his comeback from his 2013 injuries. He also captained the Australian team that finished third in the 2014 Speedway World Cup Final in Poland. After initially considering giving the 2015 Australian Championship to be held in early January a miss in order to get himself fit for the

2015 Speedway Grand Prix The 2015 Speedway Grand Prix season was the 70th edition of the official World Championship and the 21st season of the Speedway Grand Prix era, deciding the FIM Speedway World Championship. It was the fifteenth series under the promotion of Be ...

season, Holder decided to defend his title. Bike problems in the first round at the

Gillman Speedway Gillman Speedway (sometimes called Gillman Speedway Stadium) is a purpose built, long motorcycle speedway located in the Adelaide suburb of Gillman in South Australia. The track opened in 1998 and runs approximately 13 meetings per season fr ...

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saw him only finish 7th on points with 8 and only just gain a place in the "B" Final where he finished 3rd. Things improved considerably in the second round at Olympic Park in

Mildura Mildura ( ) is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 at the 2021 census. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point, Merbein and Red ...

for round 2 where he finished equal second on points before finishing second in the "A" Final to World Cup team mate and championship leader

Jason Doyle Jason Kevin Doyle (born 6 October 1985) is an Australian motorcycle speedway rider. He became World Champion in 2017 after winning the 2017 Speedway Grand Prix. Doyle is a member of the Australia national speedway team and represented his coun ...

. That was where his title defence ended though as a crash in practice for the third round at the Undera Park Speedway saw him hospitalised with a suspected broken wrist. However it later emerged that Holder had not broken his wrist but had dislocated it and bent a plate previously inserted requiring him to have further surgery to replace the plate and relocate his wrist. By his own standards, the 2012 World Champion had a down on par SGP season in 2015, with his best finish being 2nd at the British SGP. After a poor showing at the Australian SGP in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

where he only scored 2 points from his 5 rides, he ultimately finished 8th in the series just grabbing the last automatic qualifying spot for

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

by 3 points from Danish rider

Peter Kildemand Peter Kildemand (born 1 September 1989) is a motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark and was a member of the Danish national team. He is a two-time Speedway Grand Prix winner. Career Kildemand started riding in Britain for Workington Comets ...

. Following the SGP season, Holder announced that he would not be contesting the Australian season in an effort to get himself right for 2016, planning on racing only two meetings at home over the summer. In a return to form, Holder won the Solo Final at the Darcy Ward Benefit Meeting held at the Gillman Speedway on 7 November just two weeks after the Australian GP, leading home fellow Aussie SGP rider Troy Batchelor and surprising young German Kai Huckenbeck. On the night Holder also swapped two wheels for three and did 4 quick laps on the back of Mark Plaisted's 1000cc sidecar. On 22 October 2016, Chris Holder won the Australian SGP to secure 4th place in the 2016 Speedway Grand Prix standings. Holder won the final at the Etihad Stadium from outgoing World Champion Tai Woffinden, Polish rider

Bartosz Zmarzlik Bartosz Zmarzlik (Polish: ; born 12 April 1995) is a Polish motorcycle speedway rider, a five-time World Champion (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024), three-time World Team Champion (2016, 2017, 2023), World Junior Champion (2015) and European ...

and Sweden's Antonio Lindbäck. It was Holder's first SGP victory since winning the 2012 British SGP. After two difficult seasons in the world championship marred by injuries, Holder bounced back in 2016 to ride in 7 of the 11 Finals in the championship series with one win, two second and two third placings. Holder's younger brother Jack also rode in Melbourne as the second track reserve for the meeting and finished 2nd in his first ride. In 2023, he was part of the Australian team that finished fourth in the

2023 Speedway World Cup The 2023 FIM Speedway World Cup (SWC) was the 18th Speedway World Cup, an international motorcycle speedway world championship tournament organised by the FIM. The 2023 edition was the first since 2017 and took place between 25 July and 29 Jul ...

final. He also experienced league success after joining Sheffield Tigers for the latter part of the SGB Premiership 2023 season. He re-signed for Sheffield in 2024 and won the Knockout Cup with them. Holder helped

Slangerup Slangerup is a town in Frederikssund Municipality, about 30 km north-west of central Copenhagen, in the Capital Region of Denmark. The town of Slangerup The town was established by the Viking Slangir at the time of Harald Bluetooth. King Er ...

win the Danish Speedway League during the 2024 Danish speedway season.

Family

His brother, James Holder, also rode in the UK with the Plymouth Devils in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

and younger brother Jack Holder is an World team champion.

Major results

World individual Championship

2010 Speedway Grand Prix The 2010 Speedway Grand Prix was the 65th edition of the official World Championship and the 16th season of the Speedway Grand Prix era, deciding the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM Speedway World Championship. It was the tenth se ...

- 8th, 96 pts * 2011 Speedway Grand Prix - 8th, 101 pts * 2012 Speedway Grand Prix - World champion, 160 pts * 2013 Speedway Grand Prix - 12th, 82 pts * 2014 Speedway Grand Prix - 7th, 100 pts *

- 8th, 95 pts * 2016 Speedway Grand Prix - 4th, 126 pts * 2017 Speedway Grand Prix - 10th, 85 pts * 2018 Speedway Grand Prix - 12th, 65 pts

Grand Prix wins

*1: 2010 Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain *2: 2011 Speedway Grand Prix of Sweden *3: 2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Europe *4: 2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain *5:

2016 Speedway Grand Prix of Australia Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number) *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * '' Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen * ''Sixteen'' ...

Speedway World Cup

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

–

Leszno Leszno (, , ) is a historic city in western Poland, seat of Leszno County within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Leszno is a former residential cit ...

, Alfred Smoczyk Stadium – 3rd – 29pts (3) *

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

–

Vojens Vojens () is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,424 (1 January 2025).Speedway Center – 4th – 21pts (4) *

– Leszno, Alfred Smoczyk Stadium – 2nd – 43pts (10) *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

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Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (), often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów (formerly ), is a city in Geography of Poland, western Poland, located on the Warta, Warta River. It is one of the two principal cities and seats of the Lubusz Voivodes ...

, Edward Jancarz Stadium – 2nd – 45pts (15) *

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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Målilla Målilla () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Hultsfred Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 1,524 inhabitants in 2010. It is commonly known as the temperature capital of Sweden due to both high and low temperature records being set the ...

, G&B Stadium – 2nd – 39pts (16) *

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

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Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

, Polonia Bydgoszcz Stadium – 3rd – 36pts (11) *

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

– Vojens, Speedway Center – 4th – 26pts (8) *

–

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

National Speedway Stadium The National Speedway Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium on Kirkmanshulme Lane, in Gorton, Manchester, England, and is the home of the Belle Vue Aces and Belle Vue Colts Motorcycle speedway, speedway teams and the Manchester Titans American fo ...

– 4th – 22pts (10) *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, Stadion Olimpijski – 4th – 27pts (1)

Individual U-21 World Championship

– Terenzano, Pista Olimpia Terenzano – 12th – 5pts *

–

Ostrów Wielkopolski Ostrów Wielkopolski () (often abbreviated ''Ostrów Wlkp.'', formerly called simply ''Ostrów'', , Latin: ''Ostrovia'') is a city in west-central Poland with 70,982 inhabitants (2021), situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship; the seat of Ostr ...

, Municipal Stadium – 2nd – 14pts *

–

Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...

, Svítkov Stadion – 2nd – 12+3pts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holder, Chris 1987 births Living people Australian speedway riders 21st-century Australian sportsmen Individual Speedway World Champions Isle of Wight Islanders riders Poole Pirates riders Sheffield Tigers riders Australian expatriate speedway riders in England Motorcycle racers from Sydney World Games silver medalists for Australia Medalists at the 2017 World Games