Simon James Hollingsworth (born 9 May 1972) is an Australian former

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete. He is currently the CEO of

Athletics Australia Australian Athletics is the national sporting organisation (NSO) recognised by Australian Sports Commission for the sport of athletics in Australia. Founded in 1897, the organisation is responsible for administering a sport with over 16,000 reg ...

Athletic career

Hollingsworth competed nationally and internationally for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic Sport of athletics, athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a ...

. He participated in the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

1996 Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

and

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial sport of athletics, athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations ...

. Hollingsworth holds the record in the 400m hurdles at under 18 level with a time of 50.45 seconds. He finished second behind

Kriss Akabusi Kezie Uchechukwu Duru Akabusi, MBE (; born 28 November 1958), known as Kriss Akabusi, is a British broadcaster and former sprint and hurdling track and field athlete. His first international successes were with the British 4 × 400 metres re ...

in the 400 metres hurdles event at the British

1992 AAA Championships The 1992 AAA Championships was an outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA), held from 27 to 28 July at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England. It served as the British trials event for the 1992 Summ ...

Education

He studied at St Patrick's College, Launceston, and St Virgil's College, Hobart, before graduating from the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

in 1996 with a combined degree of Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws, achieving Honours in Law. He was a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

at Exeter College,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

where he studied

Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in PPE was the Unive ...

Business career

Hollingsworth is a member of the Athletes commission and has acted as chairperson of the Commission since 2000. Hollingsworth was an Executive Director in the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet before being appointed the CEO of the

Australian Sports Commission The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) is the Australian Government commission responsible for supporting and investing in sport in Australia. The Commission incorporates the Australian Institute of Sport. From 2018 to 2022, it was known as S ...

on 27 September 2011. He resigned as CEO in August 2016 to take up a senior finance position in the Victorian Government. He later served as CEO of the

Magistrates' Court of Victoria The Magistrates' Court of Victoria is the lowest court in the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The court possesses original jurisdiction over summary offences and indictable offence, in ...

. In May 2024, Hollingsworth was appointed CEO of

National podiums

*400 m hurdles **1993–94: third (49.68) **1994–95: runner-up (49.73) **1995–96: runner-up (50.12)

International competitions

References

External links

Under 18 record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollingsworth, Simon 1972 births Living people Australian male hurdlers Australian Rhodes Scholars Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Australia Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford People educated at St Virgil's College Australian Institute of Sport track and field athletes Australian sports executives and administrators World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia Commonwealth Games athletes for Australia Place of birth missing (living people) People educated at St Patrick's College, Launceston University of Tasmania alumni