Kelly Holmes

Dame Kelly Holmes, DBE (born 19 April 1970) is a retired English middle distance athlete. She specialised in the 800 metres and 1500 metres events and won a gold medal for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She set British records in numerous events and still holds the records over the 600, 800, 1000, and 1500 metres distances.

Inspired by Sebastian Coe, Holmes began competing in middle distance events in her youth. She joined the British Army but continued to compete at the organisation's athletics events. She turned to the professional athletics circuit in the early 1990s and in 1994 she won the 1500 m at the Commonwealth Games and took silver at the European Championships. She won a silver and a bronze medal at the 1995 Gothenburg World Championships but suffered from various injuries over the following two years, failing to gain a medal at her first Olympics in Atlanta 1996. She soon returned to form, taking silver in the 1500 m at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and bronze in the 800 m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics; her first Olympic medal.

It was in the last four years of her career that Holmes had her greatest achievements. In 2002 Holmes won the 1500 m at the Commonwealth Games and the 800 m bronze at the Munich European Championships. The 2003 track season saw her take silver in the 1500 m at the World Indoor Championships and the 800 m silver medals at the World Championships and first World Athletics Final. She took part in her final major championship in 2004— she turned in a double gold medal-winning performance at the Athens Olympics, finishing as the 800 m and 1500 m Olympic Champion. For her achievements she won numerous awards and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005. She retired from athletics in 2005 and has since made a number of television appearances.

Early life and army career

Dame Kelly Holmes was born in Pembury, Kent, the daughter of Derrick Holmes, a Jamaican-born car mechanic, and an English mother, Pam Norman. Her mother, 17 at the time of her birth, married painter and decorator Michael Norris seven years later, whom Holmes regards as her father, and the couple had two more children (Kevin b. 1977 and Stuart b. 1980) before splitting up in 1987. Holmes grew up in Hildenborough and attended Hildenborough CEP School, and then Hugh Christie Comprehensive School in Tonbridge at the age of 12.

She started training for athletics at the age of 12, joining Tonbridge Athletics Club, where she was coached by David Arnold and went on to win the English schools 1500 metres in her second season in 1983. Her hero was British middle distance runner Sebastian Coe, and she was inspired by Coe's successful 1984 Summer Olympics defence of his 1500 m crown.

However, Holmes later turned her back on athletics, joining the British Army at the age of 18, having left school two years earlier, working initially as a shop assistant in a sweet shop and later as a nursing assistant for disabled patients. In the Army, she was initially a lorry driver in the Women's Royal Army Corps(WRAC), later becoming a basic physical training instructor (PTI). Holmes then elected in June 1990 to attend the first course to be run under the new Army Physical Training Corps syllabus and successfully passed out as a 'Class 2 PTI'. Although militarily quite young, Holmes athletic prowess was impressive and she was encouraged to attend the course selection for full-time transfer to the Army Physical Training Corps (APTC). At this time, selection courses for the APTC were conducted immediately following successful completion of the Class 2 PTI course, however, candidates had to be recommended to attend. Once again, the selection course was the first course to be run under the new syllabus, successful completion of which allowed attendance on the Junior and Senior Probationers' course at APTC, Aldershot.

Holmes eventually qualified as a 'Sergeant Class 1 PTI' and was transferred to the APTC from the (WRAC), which later disbanded in 1992 being absorbed into the Adjutant General's Corps. She also became British Army judo champion, and in Army athletics events once competed in the men's 800 metres at a meeting, as it was considered that for her to run in the women's event would be too embarrassing for the other competitors. At another event, she competed in and won an 800 metres, a 3000 metres and a relay race all in a single day. She also won the Heptathlon.

Holmes watched the 1992 Summer Olympics on television, and seeing Lisa York in the heats of the 3000 metres, an athlete whom she had competed against, and beaten, decided to return to athletics. For several years she combined both athletics and her employment in the army until increased funding allowed her to become a full-time athlete in 1997.

2004 Athens Olympic Games

While training in 2003 for the 2004 Summer Olympics at a French training camp, Holmes suffered leg injuries and was very depressed, she began to meditate using an English lantern "I made one cut for every day that I had been injured", Holmes stated in an interview with News of the World newspaper. At least once, she considered suicide, but she eventually sought help from a doctor and was diagnosed with clinical depression. While she could not use anti-depressants because it would affect her performance, she began using herbal serotonin tablets. (In 2005, after her achievements at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Holmes chose to talk about her self-harm to show others that being a professional athlete is an extremely difficult thing to do and places the athlete under tremendous amounts of stress).

2004 saw Holmes arrive at a major competition, the Athens Olympics, with no injury worries for just about the first time in her career. She had originally planned to compete in just the 1500 m but a victory over Jolanda Čeplak before the games had many saying she should take her chance in the 800 m as well. Holmes did not announce her decision to race in both events until five days before the 800 m finals.

Along with three time World Champion Maria de Lurdes Mutola and Čeplak, Holmes was considered one of the favourites for the gold medal in the 800 m. In the final, Holmes ran a well-paced race, ignoring a fast start by a number of the other competitors, and moved into the lead ahead of Mutola on the final bend, taking the gold on the line ahead of Hasna Benhassi and Čeplak, with Mutola in fourth. Holmes became the seventh British woman to win an athletics gold, and the second after Ann Packer in 1964 to win the 800 metres.

Clearly in form, Holmes now became favourite for her preferred event, the 1500 metres on the 28 August. Her most difficult task now was maintaining her focus - she later revealed how after waking each morning she had put her medal on and cried.

Again running from the rear of the field, she took the lead in the final straight, holding off World Champion Tatyana Tomashova of Russia. She thus became only the third woman in history to do the 800 m and 1500 m double (after Tatyana Kazankina of the Soviet Union in 1976 and Svetlana Masterkova of Russia in 1996), the first British woman to win two Olympic gold medals, and the country's first double gold medallist at the same games since Albert Hill in 1920. Her time of 3 minutes 57.90 seconds in the 1500 m final also set a new British record for the distance.

Subsequently, Holmes was given the honour of carrying the British flag at the closing ceremony of the games, on 29 August, the day after her second victory. A home-coming parade was held in her honour through the streets of Hildenborough and Tonbridge on 1 September, which was attended by approximately 40,000 people. This was more than double the size of crowds at the parade through London for all the Olympic medallists, and roughly equivalent to the entire population of Hildenborough and Tonbridge (although there were many visitors from outside the local area). Holmes won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2004, saying she achieved her goals after "twenty years of dreaming". She also asserted the award was "the biggest sporting honour your country can give you". The tributes to her at the BBC awards ceremony were led by the six British female athletes who had previously won gold at the Olympic Games in a "Magnificent Seven"-style feature - those six being Mary Rand, Ann Packer, Mary Peters, Tessa Sanderson, Sally Gunnell and Denise Lewis.

Knighthood and post-athletics career

Holmes was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the New Year's Honours List of 2005. She was presented with the honour by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 9 March 2005, accompanied by her parents and grandfather. She had previously been appointed a Member of the Military Division of the same Order (MBE) in 1998 for services to the British Army.

On 28 December 2004, she appeared on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.

Since 2004, Kelly has taken part in Norwich Union sponsored "On Camp with Kelly" athletics camps helping train junior athletes.

In 2005 she won the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year. That same year, she named the P&O Cruise ship MS Arcadia.

On 21 August 2005, she competed in her final race in the UK, the 800 m at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix meeting in Sheffield. Her training schedule during the summer of 2005 had been disrupted by a recurrent Achilles tendon injury, and she finished the race in 8th place, limping across the finish line and completing a lap of honour on a buggy.

On 6 December 2005, Holmes announced her retirement from athletics stating she had reassessed her future after the death of a friend as well as citing a lack of motivation to continue.

In 2006, Kelly appeared in ITV's Dancing On Ice, partnering Olympian Todd Sand.

On 16 September 2007, Holmes presented the weekly round-up of sports news on the BBC London News as an apparent substitute for regular presenter Mark Bright. Holmes was introduced by anchorwoman Riz Lateef without explanation. Reading from the autocue in a glamorous dress with elaborate hairstyle, Holmes appeared confident and enthusiastic, leading to speculation that this might presage a career in broadcasting. Neither the BBC nor Holmes have made any public statement.

On 3 December 2007, Holmes appeared at Ernest Bevin College to open its new sports centre.

Over summer 2008, Holmes starred in Five's Superstars as the captain of the Red Team, also including fellow athlete Iwan Thomas. The Red Team finished 2nd out of the four teams, losing to 'Sir Steve's Whites' captained by ex-Olympic rower, Sir Steve Redgrave in the final.

Kelly was chosen as one of the names for the school houses at Rainham School for Girls, located in her native Kent in 2008. Of the five women chosen she is the only one still living.

She is referenced in the Doctor Who episode "Fear Her" – the story takes place in "Dame Kelly Holmes Close". Appropriately enough, it is also set during the 2012 London Olympics.

Achievements

Personal bests

Event	Time	Venue	Date
600 metres	1:25.41 (British record)	Liège, Belgium	2 September 2003
800 metres	1:56.21 (British record)	Monte Carlo, Monaco	9 September 1995
800 metres (indoor)	1:59.21 (British record)	Gent, Belgium	9 February 2003
1000 metres	2:32.55 (British record)	Leeds, United Kingdom	15 June 1997
1000 metres (indoor)	2:32.96 (British record)	Birmingham, United Kingdom	20 February 2004
1500 metres	3:57.90 (British record)	Athens, Greece	28 August 2004
1500 metres (indoor)	4:02.66 (British record)	Birmingham, United Kingdom	16 March 2003
One mile	4:28.04	Glasgow, United Kingdom	30 August 1998
3000 metres	9:01.91	Gateshead, United Kingdom	13 July 2003

• All information taken from IAAF profile and UK All time lists.

Competition record

Year	Tournament	Venue	Event	Result
1993	World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	800 m	5th (sf)
1994	Commonwealth Games	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada	1500 m	1st
	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	1500 m	2nd
	IAAF World Cup	London, England	1500 m	3rd
	European Cup	Birmingham, England	800 m	2nd
1995	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	800 m	3rd
			1500 m	2nd
	European Cup	Villeneuve d'Ascq, France	800 m	1st
1996	European Cup	Madrid, Spain	800 m	2nd
	Olympic Games	Atlanta, Georgia, United States	800 m	4th
			1500 m	11th
1997	European Cup	Munich, Germany	1500 m	1st
1998	Commonwealth Games	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	1500 m	2nd
1999	World Championships	Seville, Spain	800 m	4th (sf)
2000	Summer Olympics	Sydney, Australia	800 m	3rd
			1500 m	7th
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	800 m	6th
2002	European Championships	Munich, Germany	800 m	3rd
			1500 m	4th (h)
	Commonwealth Games	Manchester, England	1500 m	1st
2003	World Championships	Paris, France	800 m	2nd
			1500 m	9th
	World Indoor Championships	Birmingham, England	1500 m	2nd
	IAAF World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	800 m	2nd
2004	Summer Olympics	Athens, Greece	800 m	1st
			1500 m	1st
	IAAF World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	1500 m	1st

• Note: In addition to these achievements, Holmes has also won 12 national titles.

See also

• Benita de Witt

Bibliography

• Holmes, Kelly (2004). My Olympic Ten Days. Virgin Books. ISBN 1-85227-222-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Holmes, Kelly (2005). Kelly Holmes: Black, White & Gold:The Autobiography. Virgin Books. ISBN 1-85227-224-4.

External links

• My service life: Dame Kelly Holmes
• Kelly Holmes Official Website
• Kelly Holmes at World Athletics
• UK Athletics profile for Kelly Holmes

Articles

• The Guardian profile: Kelly Holmes
• BBC Sport The real Holmes truth
• BBC Sport Holmes reveals self-harm ordeal
• BBC Sport Holmes makes emotional farewell
• BMI Voyager Magazine How Kelly Holmes inspires young girls on the sports field - Interview
• On Camp With Kelly

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