Dame Kelly Holmes DBE, MBE

Double Olympic Gold Medal Winning Athlete

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. After retiring from active athletics in 2005, Kelly founded her own charity and was President of the Commonwealth Games England.

"Kelly is an icon of British athletics, a truly inspirational and respected figure in the sporting world"

Topics

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

Languages

She presents in English.

How she presents

Kelly’s innovative style is meticulously crafted to suit the unique needs of every client, actively collaborating with them to ensure the realisation of their goals and objectives during strategy meetings, seminars, and conferences.

Publications

2011
Just Go for It
2008
Kelly Holmes
2005
Black, White and Gold (Autobiography)
2004
My Olympic Ten Days

Talk to us about Dame Kelly Holmes

In Detail

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.

What she offers you

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.