Dame Kelly Holmes

A double Olympic gold medallist, Kelly Holmes became only the second woman in history to claim the 800m and 1500m titles in the same Games. She has gone on to be a mental and physical health advocate, broadcaster and award-winning writer. Over the course of her career Kelly amassed seven Gold, eight Silver and four Bronze medals at Olympic, Commonwealth and European levels. She earned the nation’s admiration with her remarkable achievements in 2004 in Athens, the first British athlete in over 80 years to win a double-gold on the track and which also saw her named BBC Sports Personality of the Year and European Athlete of the Year.

Despite achieving incredible things in her sport, privately Kelly suffered from serious mental health problems. Her frequent physical injuries also had a psychological effect culminating in a breakdown in the run up to the World Championships before her Olympic triumph. It was after retirement that she revealed the difficulties she experienced, becoming one of the first high-profile sports people to openly discuss her battle with depression, suicidal thoughts and self-harm. In an emotional and powerful TV documentary, Kelly Holmes: Being Me, she came out publicly as a gay woman, and reflected on the effects of trying to manage the personal and the public, and the value of authenticity.

Alongside a personal look at mental health, Kelly also looks at what individuals and organisations need to do to help themselves and each other in order to work effectively. She looks at the ups and downs of her career on and off the track, and with humour and insight considers what it takes to achieve your goals. Drawing on her time with the Army as well as her athletics career, she also explores team-building, planning and execution.

Kelly is a regular face on television, from sport to lifestyle programmes. After combining her athletics career with a successful military career, Kelly was an honorary colonel with the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment for six years. She founded the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust to support both retired athletes and disadvantaged young people, and works with promising young athletes. She is the author of books covering both autobiography and health and fitness, including Black, White & Gold, Just Go For It! and Running Life, with the latter being named a Telegraph Sports Book of the Year.