Kelly Holmes
Two times Olympic Gold Medallist, Former British 800m Record Holder, Former Member of the Royal Army Corps and Founder of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust
Dame Kelly Holmes is a retired British athlete, famed for winning two Gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Claiming gold in the 800 and 1500 metres, Kelly also broke the British 800m record, which she held until 2021. At 18, Kelly became a member of the Women’s Royal Army Corps, working as a HGV Driver and a Physical Training Instructor. Leaving the Army in 1997 to focus on her athletics career, Kelly won Bronze in the 1500 metres at the Sydney Olympics. Kelly has also claimed two Silver World Championship medals, a Bronze World Championship medal, a Silver World Indoor Championship medal, a Silver European Championship medal, a Bronze European Championship medal, two Gold Commonwealth Games medals and one Silver Commonwealth Games medal.
In 2005, Kelly announced that she would be retiring from competitive athletics, and has since dedicated her time to training junior athletes as part of On Camp With Kelly, and as the Founder of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust. In recognition of her decorated career, Kelly was appointed DBE and was made an Honorary Colonel of the Royal Armoured Corps. She has also claimed BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2004 and the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year 2005. In 2010, Kelly was inducted into the England Athletics Hall of Fame, honouring such a decorated and influential career she has led.
In 2022, Kelly made headlines when she announced that she was gay in an interview with the Sunday Mirror. Since then, Kelly has used her prominence as a former athlete to advocate for increased awareness and support of the LGBT+ community. Having known she was a lesbian since her time in the army, Kelly shares her battle with the adversity of having to hide her true identity. Shedding light on the historic homophobia that continues to serve as a barrier to the community, hire Dame Kelly Holmes when looking to empower women to live as their true selves this International Women’s Day.
Topics include:
• Motivation and Inspiration
• Mental Health in the Workplace
• Performance, Resilience and Overcoming Adversity
• Leadership
• Goal Setting and High Performing Teams
• Health, Wellbeing and Nutrition
• Sports and Peak Performance
• Women’s Empowerment
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