Celebrating 20 years since those extraordinary wins at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. Double Olympic Champion Dame Kelly Holmes, is respected around the world as a role model and inspiration. Joining the British Army at 17, serving for nearly 10 years as a qualified HGV driver and Physical Training Instructor.... Read more
Celebrating 20 years since those extraordinary wins at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. Double Olympic Champion Dame Kelly Holmes, is respected around the world as a role model and inspiration.
Joining the British Army at 17, serving for nearly 10 years as a qualified HGV driver and Physical Training Instructor. In 1998, Dame Kelly was awarded an MBE, in recognition of her services to the armed forces, by the now King Charles.
During a 12-year international career, Kelly won multiple medals at Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic levels, culminating in two Gold Medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics Games for the 800m and 1500m, which cemented her place in history as the first woman ever in Great Britain to win two gold medals at the same games. In 2005 she was honoured with a Damehood for services to sport by the late Queen Elizabeth.
In 2008, Kelly founded and is now President of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, which puts world-class athletes shoulder to shoulder with disadvantaged young people to engage, enable and empower them to be the best version of themselves, for which she won a Beacon Award for Philanthropy in 2017 and a Sport and Recreation Alliance – Arthur Bell Trophy in 2023
In 2018 she was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment. Dame Kelly became the first person to be attached to a regular regiment as an Honorary Colonel which was required to be signed off by the late Queen Elizabeth.
In 2020 Kelly was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of York to add to 12 others she has received since retiring.
In June 2022 Dame Kelly’s powerful documentary; Kelly Holmes: Being Me, aired on ITV. Kelly is now free to be her authentic self, she is using her voice to educate and inform on D&I matters.
Dame Kelly has been a Global Inspirational and Motivational speaker for over 20 years. She is a TV Presenter, a trained Mental Health First Aider and a voice for change. She is a true role model, inspiration and trailblazer for many causes.