Kelly Holmes

Dame

Kelly Holmes

DBE, OLY

Holmes at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Born	(1970-04-19) 19 April 1970 (age 54) Pembury, Kent, England
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Website	kellyholmes.co.uk
Military career
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army Women's Royal Army Corps (1988–1992) Adjutant General's Corps (1992–1997)
Years of service	1988–1997
Rank	Sergeant
Sport
Country	Great Britain England
Sport	Running
Event(s)	800 metres, 1500 m
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	800 m: 1:56.21 (Monaco 1995) 1500 m: 3:57.90 (Athens 2004) Indoors 800 m: 1:59.21i (Ghent 2003)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Great Britain Olympic Games 2004 Athens 800 m 2004 Athens 1500 m 2000 Sydney 800 m World Championships 1995 Gothenburg 1500 m 2003 Paris 800 m 1995 Gothenburg 800 m World Indoor Championships 2003 Birmingham 1500 m European Championships 1994 Helsinki 1500 m 2002 Munich 800 m Representing  England Commonwealth Games 1994 Victoria 1500 m 2002 Manchester 1500 m 1998 Kuala Lumpur 1500 m

Dame Kelly Holmes DBE OLY^[2] (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British middle distance athlete, TV presenter and television personality.

Holmes specialised in the 800 metres and 1,500 metres events and won gold medals 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, and 1,000 metre distances. She held the British 800 metre record until 2021.

Inspired by a number of successful British middle-distance runners in the early 1980s, 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 1993 and in 1994 she won the 1,500 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 years, failing to gain a medal at her first Olympics in Atlanta 1996 when running with a stress fracture. She won silver in the 1,500 m at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and bronze in the 800 m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, her first Olympic medal.

Holmes won the 1,500 m at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the 800 m bronze at the Munich European Championships that year. The 2003 track season saw her take silver in the 1,500 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, with a double gold medal-winning performance at the Athens Olympics, finishing as the 800 m and 1,500 m Olympic Champion. For her achievements she won numerous awards and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2005. She retired from athletics in 2005 and has since been made an honorary colonel with the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment (RACTR). She has become a global motivational speaker, published five books, her latest being Running Life, and made a number of television appearances.