Dame Kelly Holmes,
DBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
MBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 19 April 1970) is a retired British
middle distanceMiddle distance track events are track races longer than sprints up to 3000 metres.-Middle distance events:The standard middle distances are the 800 m, 1500 m, mile , and the 3000 m . In the United States, the 3000 m is more common at the high school and collegiate levels...
athleteTrack and field athletics is a collection of sports events that involve running, throwing, jumping and walking. Organised athletics are traced back to the Ancient Olympic Games from 776 BC, and most modern events are conducted by the member clubs of the International Association of Athletics...
. She specialised in the
800 metresThe 800 metre race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 metre track, therefore requiring four laps...
and
1500 metresThe 1,500 metres is a premier middle distance track event.In modern times, it has become more of a prolonged sprint with each lap averaging under 55 seconds for the world record performance by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1998 at Rome. The 1500 is three and three-quarter laps around a 400...
events and won a
gold medalA gold medal is typically the highest medal awarded for achievement in a non-military field. The concept comes from the military, initially with a simple recognition of military rank, and later decorations for admission to military orders dating back to medieval times.Since the eighteenth century,...
for both distances at the
2004 Summer OlympicsThe 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
. 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 ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
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 ChampionshipsThe European Athletics Championships is an event organized by the European Athletic Association. It is organised every four years, the same year as the Commonwealth Games and between the Summer Olympic Games cycle...
. 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 1996The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
. She soon returned to form, taking silver in the 1500 m at the
1998 Commonwealth GamesThe 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century...
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 ChampionshipsThe 18th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 August to 11 August, 2002 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich, Germany.-Track:1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |2010 |...
. 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 Championships2003 World Championships may refer to:* Alpine skiing: Alpine World Ski Championships 2003 * Aquatics: 2003 World Aquatics Championships* Athletics: 2003 World Championships in Athletics**Cross-country running: 2003 IAAF World Cross Country 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 OlympicsThe 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
, finishing as the 800 m and 1500 m Olympic Champion. For her achievements she won numerous awards and was
appointed a dameKnight Commander is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are obsolete. The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the recipient to use the title 'Sir' or 'Dame' before his or her name...
by
HM The QueenElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
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
PemburyPembury is a large village in Kent, in the south east of England, with a population of around 6,000. It lies just to the north of Tunbridge Wells.-History:...
,
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
, the daughter of Derrick Holmes, a
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n-born car mechanic, and an
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
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
HildenboroughHildenborough is a village and rural parish in the District of Tonbridge and Malling, Kent. It is two miles north-west of Tonbridge and five miles south-east of Sevenoaks...
and attended Hildenborough CEP School, and then
Hugh Christie Comprehensive SchooHugh Christie Technology College is an 11-18 Technology College based in Tonbridge, Kent, England. In November 2006 the school moved into a new £20m building. The school has been a Technology College since 1994 and currently has a roll of approximately 1,250 students...
l in
TonbridgeTonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately four miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 25 miles south east of London...
at the age of 12. She is also a Supporter of the Conservative Party UK. She made a speech the Conservative Conference 2009 in Manchester for Sports and Olympics matters for 2012. She is also advising
Boris JohnsonAlexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British politician and journalist. The current Mayor of London, he previously served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Henley-on-Thames and as editor of The Spectator magazine....
on the Olympic Development for 2012.
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 metresThe 1,500 metres is a premier middle distance track event.In modern times, it has become more of a prolonged sprint with each lap averaging under 55 seconds for the world record performance by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1998 at Rome. The 1500 is three and three-quarter laps around a 400...
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 OlympicsThe 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984. Los Angeles was selected as the host of the Games on May 18, 1978 on the 80th IOC session at Athens, Greece, without a vote,...
defence of his 1500 m crown.
However, Holmes later turned her back on athletics, joining the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
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 CorpsThe Women's Royal Army Corps was the corps to which all women in the British Army except medical, dental and veterinary officers and chaplains and nurses belonged from 1949 to 1992.The WRAC was...
(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 CorpsThe Adjutant General's Corps is a corps in the British Army responsible for many of its general administrative services. As of 2002, the AGC had a staff of 7,000 people...
. She also became British Army
judo, meaning "gentle way", is a modern Japanese martial art and combat sport, that originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century...
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 OlympicsThe 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain in 1992.-Host city selection:...
on television, and seeing Lisa York in the heats of the
3000 metresThe 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is classified as middle distance, however this could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...
, 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 depressionMajor depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
. While she could not use anti-depressants because it would affect her performance, she began using herbal
serotoninSerotonin is a monoamine neurotransmitter. It is found extensively in the gastrointestinal tract of animals, and about 80 to 90 percent of the human body's total serotonin is located in the enterochromaffin cells in the gut, where it is used to regulate intestinal movements...
tablets. (In 2005, after her achievements at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Holmes chose to talk about her
self-harmSelf-injury , self-harm or deliberate self-harm is deliberate infliction of tissue damage or alteration to oneself without suicidal intent...
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 OlympicsThe 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
, 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 ČeplakJolanda Čeplak is a Slovenian middle distance athlete.She was born in Celje, Slovenia and lived in Velenje until recently when she moved to Monaco....
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 ChampionThe World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations . Originally, it was organised every four years, but this changed in 1991, and it has since been organised biennially.-History:...
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 BenhassiHasna Benhassi is a Moroccan middle distance athlete.She first came to international prominence at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, winning a surprise silver medal behind Kelly Holmes. She repeated this feat by winning silver at the 2005 World Athletics Championships in Helsinki,...
and Čeplak, with Mutola in fourth. Holmes became the seventh British woman to win an athletics gold, and the second after
Ann PackerAnn Elizabeth Packer MBE is a former British sprinter, hurdler and long jumper. She won a gold medal in the 800 metres at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo....
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 TomashovaTatyana Ivanovna Tomashova is a Russian middle distance runner. At the 2000 Summer Olympics she competed in 5000 metres, but she has participated in shorter races since, now competing mainly in the 1500 metres...
of Russia. She thus became only the third woman in history to do the 800 m and 1500 m double (after
Tatyana KazankinaTatyana Vasilyevna Kazankina is a former Soviet/Russian runner who set seven world records and won a total of three gold medals at the Olympic Games. She was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour and the title Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR in 1976...
of the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
in
1976The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976...
and
Svetlana MasterkovaSvetlana Alexandrovna Masterkova is a Russian former middle distance runner and current world record holder for the mile. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in both the 800 and 1,500 metres....
of Russia in
1996The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
), the first British woman to win two Olympic gold medals, and the country's first double gold medallist at the same games since
Albert HillAlbert George Hill was a British athlete, winner of two Olympic gold medals at the 1920 Summer Olympics....
in
1920The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
. 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
HildenboroughHildenborough is a village and rural parish in the District of Tonbridge and Malling, Kent. It is two miles north-west of Tonbridge and five miles south-east of Sevenoaks...
and
TonbridgeTonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately four miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 25 miles south east of London...
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 YearThe BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of one titular award. Several new awards have been introduced, and , eight awards are presented. The oldest of these are the Team of the Year and...
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 SevenThe Magnificent Seven is a 1960 American western film directed by John Sturges about a group of hired gunmen protecting a Mexican village from bandits. It is a resetting of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film, Seven Samurai.-Plot:...
"-style feature - those six being
Mary RandMary Denise Rand, MBE, is a former English track-and-field athlete. She won the gold medal in the long jump at the 1964 Summer Olympics by breaking the world record, becoming the first-ever British female to win an Olympic gold medal in a track and field event.-Early life:She is the daughter of...
,
Ann PackerAnn Elizabeth Packer MBE is a former British sprinter, hurdler and long jumper. She won a gold medal in the 800 metres at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo....
,
Mary PetersDame Mary Elizabeth Peters, DBE, DL is a former British athlete, competing mainly in the pentathlon and shot put.-Biography:...
,
Tessa SandersonTheresa Ione Sanderson CBE is a former British javelin thrower and heptathlete who competed in the javelin competition in every one of the six Olympics from 1976-1996 winning the Gold medal in 1984....
,
Sally GunnellSally Jane Janet Gunnell OBE is a former British Olympic champion in the 400 m hurdles...
and
Denise LewisDenise Lewis OBE is a British athlete who specialises in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.-2000 Olympics:...
.
Damehood and post-athletics career
Holmes was made a Dame Commander of the
Order of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
(DBE) in the New Year's Honours List of 2005. She was presented with the honour by
the QueenElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
at
Buckingham PalaceBuckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
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 (
MBEMBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business and Engineering* Mean Biased Error...
) in 1998 for services to the British Army.
She appeared on Kids show Bookaboo reading Norma snows
On 28 December 2004, she appeared on
The Big Fat Quiz of the YearThe Big Fat Quiz of the Year is an annual British television programme broadcast on the last Sunday of the year on Channel 4. The show takes the form of a game show, with three teams of celebrities asked questions relating to the events of the current year. The first edition was broadcast in...
.
Since 2004, Kelly has taken part in
Norwich UnionNorwich Union was the name given to insurance company Aviva's British arm before June 2009. It was originally established in 1797. It is the biggest life insurance provider in the United Kingdom, and has a strong position in motor insurance...
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-List of winners and nominees:-Statistics:Nominations*By sport:**Athletics: 22...
. 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
SheffieldSheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city has grown from its largely industrial roots to encompass a wider economic base...
. Her training schedule during the summer of 2005 had been disrupted by a recurrent
Achilles tendonThe Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.-Anatomy:The Achilles is the tendonous extension of three muscles in the lower leg: gastrocnemius,...
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 IceDancing on Ice is a British television show, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT, has been a prime-time hit in 8 different countries including Germany, Italy and Chile...
, partnering Olympian
Todd SandTodd Sand is an American pairs figure skater. He currently skates professionally with wife Jenni Meno.-Life and career:...
.
On 16 September 2007, Holmes presented the weekly round-up of sports news on the
BBC London NewsFor other uses of the BBC London brand, see BBC London .BBC London News is the BBC's regional television news programme for the English region encompassing London and surrounding suburbs.-History:The programme launched on 1 October 2001 after a major reorganisation of the BBC's South East region,...
as an apparent substitute for regular presenter
Mark BrightMark Abraham Bright is a former English footballer who is now a sports pundit and BBC London's sport presenter.-Early clubs:...
. Holmes was introduced by anchorwoman
Riz LateefRizwana Lateef is a newsreader and main presenter of the BBC's regional television news service for London, BBC London. After secondary school, she undertook a journalism course at the Polytechnic of Central London and then attended the Cranfield School of Management, in Bedfordshire, from which...
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.
Over summer 2008, Holmes starred in Five's Superstars as the captain of the Red Team, also including fellow athlete
Iwan ThomasIwan Gwyn Thomas MBE Iwan Gwyn Thomas MBE Iwan Gwyn Thomas MBE (born 5 January 1974 in Farnborough (London Borough of Bromley) is an Olympic Athlete, who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 m, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games. Thomas is the current UK...
. 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 WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a mysterious alien time-traveller known as "the Doctor" who travels in his space and time-ship, the TARDIS, which normally appears from the exterior to be a blue 1950s police box...
episode "
Fear Her"Fear Her" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 24 June 2006.The episode takes part on the day of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, almost exclusively on a fictitious cul-de-sac named after the British athlete...
" – the story takes place in "Dame Kelly Holmes Close". Appropriately enough, it is also set during the 2012 London Olympics.
In May 2009 Dame Kelly Holmes was named as the new president of Commonwealth Games England, succeeding Sir Chris Chataway, who had held the post since 1994. Commonwealth Games England chairman Sir Andrew Foster said: "Dame Kelly has been an outstanding athlete both for Team England and Great Britain. "She is a truly inspirational and respected figure in the sporting world and will be a wonderful ambassador for Commonwealth Games England." (Reference BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/8057107.stm)
Personal bests
| Event |
Time |
Venue |
Date |
| 600 metres |
1:25.41 (British record) |
Liège Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the administrative capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse River, near Belgium's eastern borders...
, Belgium |
2 September 2003 |
| 800 metres The 800 metre race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 metre track, therefore requiring four laps...
|
1:56.21 (British record) |
Monte CarloMonte Carlo is one of Monaco's administrative areas, sometimes erroneously believed to be a town or the country's capital, just as Monaco-Ville...
, MonacoMonaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a small sovereign city-state located in South Western Europe on the northern central coast of the Mediterranean Sea, having a land border on three sides only with France, and being about away from Italy. Its size is just under 2 km² with an...
|
9 September 1995 |
| 800 metres The 800 metre race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 metre track, therefore requiring four laps...
(indoor) |
1:59.21 (British record) |
Gent Gent may refer to any of the following:* a shortened form of gentleman*Dutch language spelling for the city of Ghent in the Flemish region of Belgium* a model for hyperelastic materials* Gent , a men's magazine...
, Belgium |
9 February 2003 |
| 1000 metres |
2:32.55 (British record) |
LeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The historic core at the heart of Leeds in 2001 had an estimated subdivision population of 443,247, whilst the entire city, that includes the urban and suburban areas incorporated into the city in 1974, had an estimated...
, United Kingdom |
15 June 1997 |
| 1000 metres (indoor) |
2:32.96 (British record) |
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
, United Kingdom |
20 February 2004 |
| 1500 metres The 1,500 metres is a premier middle distance track event.In modern times, it has become more of a prolonged sprint with each lap averaging under 55 seconds for the world record performance by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1998 at Rome. The 1500 is three and three-quarter laps around a 400...
|
3:57.90 (British record) |
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
, Greece |
28 August 2004 |
| 1500 metres The 1,500 metres is a premier middle distance track event.In modern times, it has become more of a prolonged sprint with each lap averaging under 55 seconds for the world record performance by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1998 at Rome. The 1500 is three and three-quarter laps around a 400...
(indoor) |
4:02.66 (British record) |
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
, United Kingdom |
16 March 2003 |
| One mile |
4:28.04 |
Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, United Kingdom |
30 August 1998 |
| 3000 metres The 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is classified as middle distance, however this could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...
|
9:01.91 |
GatesheadGateshead is a city in Tyne and Wear, England. It lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne. Gateshead town centre and Newcastle city centre are very close to one another, and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
, 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 The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart, Germany between August 13 and August 22 with the participation of 187 nations....
|
StuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany |
800 m |
5th (sf) |
| 1994 |
Commonwealth GamesThe 1994 Commonwealth Games were held from 18 August to 28 August 1994 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.The 15th Commonwealth Games marked South Africa's return to the Commonwealth Games following the apartheid era, and over 30 years since the country last competed in the Games...
|
VictoriaVictoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria is a major tourism destination seeing more than 3.65 million visitors a year who inject more than one billion dollars into the local economy. Victoria is a cruise ship port where...
, British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
, Canada |
1500 m |
1st |
|
European Championships |
HelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the southern part of Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, by the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it the most populous municipality in Finland by a wide margin...
, Finland |
1500 m |
2nd |
|
IAAF World Cup |
London, England |
1500 m |
3rd |
|
European Cup |
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
, England |
800 m |
2nd |
| 1995 |
World Championships The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden between August 5 and August 13.This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nations....
|
GothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest amongst the Nordic countries. Situated on the south-west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 502,833 with 622,287 in the urban area and total of 911,406 inhabitants in the metropolitan area.The City of...
, Sweden |
800 m |
3rd |
|
|
|
1500 m |
2nd |
|
European Cup |
Villeneuve d'AscqVilleneuve d'Ascq is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It is located between Lille and Roubaix, at the crossroads of the principal freeways towards Paris, Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels. Its name means New city of Ascq in French and is derived from the Dutch word for "ash"...
, France |
800 m |
1st |
| 1996 |
European Cup |
Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
, Spain |
800 m |
2nd |
|
Olympic GamesThe 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
|
Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia, as well as the urban core of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States....
, United States |
800 m |
4th |
|
|
|
1500 m |
11th |
| 1997 |
European Cup |
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
, Germany |
1500 m |
1st |
| 1998 |
Commonwealth Games The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century...
|
Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur , is the capital and largest city of Malaysia. The city proper, making up an area of , has an estimated population of 1.6 million in 2006. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, MalaysiaMalaysia is a country in Southeast Asia that consists of thirteen states and three Federal Territories, with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants...
|
1500 m |
2nd |
| 1999 |
World Championships The 7th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and August 29....
|
SevilleSeville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as Sevillanos or...
, Spain |
800 m |
4th (sf) |
| 2000 |
Summer OlympicsThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 16 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
|
Sydney, Australia |
800 m |
3rd |
|
|
|
1500 m |
7th |
| 2001 |
World Championships The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event had visited North America.-Track:1997 | 1999 |...
|
EdmontonEdmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. The city is located on the North Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies...
, Canada |
800 m |
6th |
| 2002 |
European Championships |
Munich, Germany |
800 m |
3rd |
|
|
|
1500 m |
4th (h) |
|
Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in England, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
|
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
, England |
1500 m |
1st |
| 2003 |
World Championships The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August, 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Track:...
|
Paris, France |
800 m |
2nd |
|
|
|
1500 m |
9th |
|
World Indoor Championships The 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, UK from 14 March to 16 March 2003. It was the first time the Championships had been held in the UK...
|
Birmingham, England |
1500 m |
2nd |
|
IAAF World Athletics Final The 1st IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Stade Louis II, in Monte Carlo, Monaco on 13 September and 14 September 2003.The hammer throw event for men and women had to take place in Szombathely, Hungary a week previous as the Monaco stadium was not large enough to hold the event.One of the...
|
Monte CarloMonte Carlo is one of Monaco's administrative areas, sometimes erroneously believed to be a town or the country's capital, just as Monaco-Ville...
, MonacoMonaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a small sovereign city-state located in South Western Europe on the northern central coast of the Mediterranean Sea, having a land border on three sides only with France, and being about away from Italy. Its size is just under 2 km² with an...
|
800 m |
2nd |
| 2004 |
Summer OlympicsThe 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
|
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
, Greece |
800 m |
1st |
|
|
|
1500 m |
1st |
|
IAAF World Athletics Final The 2nd IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Stade Louis II, in Monte Carlo, Monaco on September 18, and September 19, 2004.The hammer throw event for men and women had to take place in Szombathely, Hungary a week previous as the Monaco stadium was not large enough to hold the event.One of...
|
Monte Carlo, Monaco |
1500 m |
1st |
- Note: In addition to these achievements, Holmes has also won 12 national titles.
External links
- Kelly Holmes Official Website
- UK Athletics
UK Athletics is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom.UK Athletics was founded in 1999 as a successor to the British Athletics Federation, which had collapsed for financial reasons....
profile for Kelly Holmes
-
- Articles