Double Olympic Champion Dame Kelly Holmes talks about life in lockdown, her own mental health and the importance of taking time for yourself.
06/30/20 • 55 min
In this seventeenth episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to Dame Kelly Holmes, Double Olympic Games Gold Medallist.
Double Olympic Champion Col. Dame Kelly Holmes MBE (mil) is one of the UK’s most popular athletes, respected throughout the world as a role model and an inspiration.
Setting and still holding the British records in the 800m and 1000m, Kelly is an Olympic, Commonwealth and European champion that has achieved seven Gold, eight Silver and four Bronze medals throughout her career. This includes her double win in the 800m and 1500m at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, becoming the first Briton in over 80 years to do so. After her Olympic success, she won BBC Sports Personality of the Year, European Athlete of the Year and was honoured with a Damehood from the Queen.
Kelly was raised by her mum on a council estate in Kent. She attended the local secondary school where, due to the belief and support of her PE teacher, she pursued her talent at running. Ferried to race meetings up and down the country by her family, she knows the importance of having a supportive team.
At 18, Kelly left professional running to pursue her first dream, to be in the British army. She became an HGV driver and then a Physical Training Instructor, before being awarded an MBE for services to the British Army in 1998. In 2018, Kelly was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Royal Armoured Corps, marking her return to the army. The accolade was approved by Her Majesty the Queen, making it the first time an individual has been appointed Honorary Colonel to a regular unit.
Kelly could never shift the dream of Olympic gold that she had since a child, but it was a very tough journey there. Her running career was overshadowed with repeated injury and disappointment. Recurring physical injuries contributed to periods of clinical depression and self-harm that continued to affect her just one year before her Olympic double win.
Soon after this win, Kelly set up the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust. The charity helps guide disadvantaged young people, getting their lives back on track by using world class athletes to engage, enable and empower, attitudes they need to fulfil a positive life. She encourages the same philosophy that she lives by, nothing is impossible.
These podcasts have been made possible through the support of Medichecks www.medichecks.com and Sport England www.sportengland.org.
For more information on Her Spirit go to www.herspirit.co.uk and sign up and download the Her Spirit app. It's FREE till the end of June 2020.
At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.
Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.
✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.
👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/
It’s time for You
Join us at herspirit.co.uk | Instagram | Facebook | Get the Her Spirit App
In this seventeenth episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to Dame Kelly Holmes, Double Olympic Games Gold Medallist.
Double Olympic Champion Col. Dame Kelly Holmes MBE (mil) is one of the UK’s most popular athletes, respected throughout the world as a role model and an inspiration.
Setting and still holding the British records in the 800m and 1000m, Kelly is an Olympic, Commonwealth and European champion that has achieved seven Gold, eight Silver and four Bronze medals throughout her career. This includes her double win in the 800m and 1500m at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, becoming the first Briton in over 80 years to do so. After her Olympic success, she won BBC Sports Personality of the Year, European Athlete of the Year and was honoured with a Damehood from the Queen.
Kelly was raised by her mum on a council estate in Kent. She attended the local secondary school where, due to the belief and support of her PE teacher, she pursued her talent at running. Ferried to race meetings up and down the country by her family, she knows the importance of having a supportive team.
At 18, Kelly left professional running to pursue her first dream, to be in the British army. She became an HGV driver and then a Physical Training Instructor, before being awarded an MBE for services to the British Army in 1998. In 2018, Kelly was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Royal Armoured Corps, marking her return to the army. The accolade was approved by Her Majesty the Queen, making it the first time an individual has been appointed Honorary Colonel to a regular unit.
Kelly could never shift the dream of Olympic gold that she had since a child, but it was a very tough journey there. Her running career was overshadowed with repeated injury and disappointment. Recurring physical injuries contributed to periods of clinical depression and self-harm that continued to affect her just one year before her Olympic double win.
Soon after this win, Kelly set up the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust. The charity helps guide disadvantaged young people, getting their lives back on track by using world class athletes to engage, enable and empower, attitudes they need to fulfil a positive life. She encourages the same philosophy that she lives by, nothing is impossible.
These podcasts have been made possible through the support of Medichecks www.medichecks.com and Sport England www.sportengland.org.
For more information on Her Spirit go to www.herspirit.co.uk and sign up and download the Her Spirit app. It's FREE till the end of June 2020.
At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.
Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.
✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.
👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/
It’s time for You
Join us at herspirit.co.uk | Instagram | Facebook | Get the Her Spirit App
Previous Episode
Radio DJ and TV presenter Jo Whiley talks about her passion for music, love of swimming, menopause and getting into triathlon last year with Annie and Louise.
In this sixteenth episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to Jo Whiley, Radio DJ and TV presenter.
Arguably one of the most recognisable voices in British Broadcasting, Jo Whiley has had an exciting and varied career and is considered one of the nation’s favourite radio DJs. Jo was born in Northampton. After studying in Brighton and dabbling on BBC Radio Sussex’s new music show, her first broadcasting job was as a presenter for WPFM, Radio 4’s youth culture and music show. She then moved over into TV, initially on satellite, then to Channel 4 as band booker for ‘The Word’, giving Britain its first television taste of bands such as Nirvana and Rage Against The Machine.
Jo joined Radio 1 in the Spring of 1993 and in September she became permanent co-presenter of The Evening Session with Steve Lamacq. Four years later she landed her own daytime show, and remained part of Radio 1’s weekday line-up until 2009, when she began a new weekend programme. Jo currently presents her evening show Monday - Thursday on Radio 2.
Jo has also presented coverage of the Glastonbury Festival on Radio 1, Channel 4 and BBC-TV, plus she’s hosted several music programmes for Channel 4. Jo is a celebrity ambassador to Mencap, a UK charity that works to support people with learning difficulties. She hosts the Little Noise Sessions concerts, in aid of the Mencap charity enlisting the support of many well-known international music artists. Jo is also a supporter of Tommy’s - The Baby Charity and the Patron of the Cri du Chat Syndrome Support Group.
Jo talks about how she got into triathlon after a call from Louise in 2019 and has gone on to complete her extremely demanding triathlon challenge for Sport Relief in 2020, in which she did three triathlons in three days in three different cities and raising money for Sport Relief.
She talks about her love of swimming, menopause and life in lockdown with her husband Steve and 4 children.
These podcasts have been made possible through the support of Medichecks www.medichecks.com and Sport England www.sportengland.org.
For more information on Her Spirit go to www.herspirit.co.uk and sign up and download the Her Spirit app. It's FREE till the end of June 2020.
At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.
Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.
✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.
👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/
It’s time for You
Join us at herspirit.co.uk | Instagram | Facebook | Get the Her Spirit App
Next Episode
Award winning broadcaster and author Claudia Hammond talks about the art of rest and why taking small breaks are so important.
In this eighteenth episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to Claudia Hammond is an award-winning broadcaster, author and psychology lecturer.
In her work she shares the ways that psychological and medical research can help us in our everyday lives, whether through radio, TV, podcasts, public events or books.
Claudia is the presenter of several podcasts and radio shows including All in the Mind on BBC Radio 4 which covers psychology, neuroscience & mental health and the weekly global health show Health Check on BBC World Service.
She is Visiting Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Sussex. Claudia gives talks on psychology around the world and often chairs public events on psychology, medicine and science. She writes a regular column on medical myths for BBC Future.
Her latest book, The Art of Rest, examining the science behind our struggles to rest and relax, is published by Canongate. She is also the author of Mind Over Money, Time Warped and Emotional Rollercoaster.
These podcasts have been made possible through the support of Medichecks www.medichecks.com and Sport England www.sportengland.org.
For more information on Her Spirit go to www.herspirit.co.uk and sign up and download the Her Spirit app.
At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.
Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.
✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.
👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/
It’s time for You
Join us at herspirit.co.uk | Instagram | Facebook | Get the Her Spirit App
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