Kelly Holmes: Biography from Answers.com

track and field athlete

Personal Information

Born Kelly Holmes on April 19, 1970, in Pembury, Kent
Education: Hugh Christie Comprehensive School, Tonbridge, Kent.
Memberships: Ealing, Southall, and Middlesex Athletics Club.

Career

British Army, first in the in the Women's Royal Army Corps, as a truck driver, then in the Adjutants General's Corps, as a PT (Physical Training) instructor, 1988-97; track athlete, 1992-.

Life's Work

Despite problems with injury Kelly Holmes was one of Great Britain's most promising track athletes of the 1990s and the first few years of the twenty-first century. Although she won medals in previous Olympic, Commonwealth, and World Championship competitions, her greatest career success came in the 2004 Athens Olympics when she took gold medals in the women's 800 meters and 1500 meters. Holmes set personal best times in both finals, running against strong opposition. In the 1500m final seven of the athletes set personal best times, while Holmes's winning time of 3 minutes 57.90 seconds in the 1500m final broke her own United Kingdom record, set in June 1997. By winning two gold medals at the Olympic games in Athens in 2004, Holmes became the first British athlete to achieve the Olympic double since Albert Hill in Antwerp in 1920 and became arguably the most successful British track athlete of all time.

Schoolgirl Champion

Kelly Holmes was born on April 19, 1970, in Pembury, Kent, a small town in southeast England. She was raised by her mother, Pam Norman (now Thomson) after her father, Jamaican-born Derrick Holmes, walked out; Holmes was two years old when her mother married Michael Norris. She has two half brothers from this marriage and a half-sister from her mother's second marriage, to Gary Thomson. Holmes had a happy childhood, attending the Hugh Christie School in Tonbridge, Kent, where she was encouraged to take up running. Holmes returns to the school each year to set the students "Kelly's Challenge."

Holmes showed exceptional ability as a young athlete, winning the English Schools' 1500m title at junior and senior levels. With encouragement from her family, she began training with coach Dave Arnold at the age of twelve. By age fourteen, she declared that she wanted to be an Olympic athlete. But in 1988, because of a lack of funding for British sports, Holmes opted for a career outside of athletics and joined the British Army. At first she was a truck driver, but eventually became a PT (Physical Training) instructor, where she reached the rank of sergeant. Holmes had a reputation in the army for being tough and single-minded in everything she did, earning the respect of other recruits and the officers above her. Major Peter Lyons of the Army Athletic Association told the Guardian newspaper: "Nobody got away with anything under her. She was firm and fair...She was very dedicated, very determined."

In 1992 Holmes was beginning to feel frustrated as she watched women she had competed against on the track become successful athletes. It was after watching Lisa York, a former rival, compete in the 3000m at the Barcelona Olympics that she took up serious training again. It soon became clear that she had the talent to compete on a world stage and in her first year she competed in international under-23 competitions. By 1993 she held the United Kingdom and Amateur Athletic Association of England (AAA) 800m titles and was soon winning medals on a regular basis. She won her first major 800m gold medal in the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, a title she took again in Manchester in 2002. But despite her success Holmes remained in the army until 1997, sometimes returning from a major athletics competition to go straight on guard duty. In army championships Holmes was allowed to compete in the men's 1500m races because none of the women competitors could match her. She also excelled at volleyball, was the army's female Judo champion, and at one meeting won the 800m, the 3000m, and was a member of a winning relay team.

A Career Blighted by Injury

After success in major competitions there was the promise of more to come. In 1995 Holmes set the British records over 800m and 1000m, and took a bronze in the world championships in Gothenburg. Despite breaking the British 1000m record for a second time and becoming the fastest British woman over 1500m in 1996, Holmes encountered difficulties. A stress fracture meant she could only manage fourth place in the 1500m at the Atlanta Olympics, missing out on a medal by a tenth of a second. When the games were over Holmes spent many weeks with her injured leg in plaster. More bad luck followed. In 1997 Holmes became the UK record holder over 1500m and favorite to win the event at the world championships in Athens. But she suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in her heat and finished almost 200m behind the rest of the field.

For the next five years Holmes battled with injury and illness. Although she managed to take the silver medal in the 800m in the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the bronze medal for the same distance at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Holmes admitted that she had reached a low point and was struggling. In 2001, the same year she underwent stomach surgery, she could only manage sixth place in the 800m at the world championships and did not compete in the 1500m. She told Peter Sissons on the BBC's Breakfast with Frost talk show in 2002 that for the previous three years she had stuck to the 800m because injury had prevented her from doing the stamina training needed for the longer event. She has since said that she considered giving up competitive running after her success at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002, where she took back the 800m title.

But 2002 proved to be a turning point for the then 32-year-old Holmes. That year she also won her tenth national title for 1500m and a European bronze medal in the 800m. She also switched coaches, making a fresh start with Margo Jennings after almost 18 years with Dave Arnold. Holmes began training in South Africa alongside close friend and world-class 800m runner Maria Mutola. In the build-up to the 2003 season Holmes was optimistic. That year she set personal bests over 600m, 800m (indoors), and 1500m (indoors), as well as taking second place in the 800m at the world championships in Paris and the world indoor silver medal at 1500m.

Fulfilled Olympic Dreams

As a child Holmes admired the outstanding British middle-distance runner of the 1980s, Sebastian Coe, whose win at the 1984 Olympics to retain his 1500m title inspired her as a child athlete. Although she dreamed of matching his success the years of injury and underperforming suggested it would not be possible. Even so Holmes trained hard throughout the winter of 2003 and found herself in the spring of 2004 fully fit and "in the best shape of my life." In the build-up to the Athens Olympics she won four 1500m races in Super Grand Prix meetings in Europe, the 1500m Grand Prix race at Eugene, Oregon, as well as the Golden League 1500m competition in Zurich.

Still uncertain of her ability to perform well in both 800m and 1500m races, Holmes decided to race in the Olympic 800m only two days before the event. As a former Olympic bronze medalist she was among the favorites for a medal placement, but her recent form in the 1500m had been better than at 800m and the line-up for the final was strong, including four of the top ten women over the distance in 2004 and the African record holder, Mutola. Seemingly unphased by the pressure Holmes ran a perfect race, taking the lead on the final bend and bringing the field home to a tight finish in 1-minute 56.38-seconds, a personal best.

With the 1500m competition only six days away Holmes began her preparation with the 800m gold medal dominating her thoughts. She told the Guardian newspaper that in the days after the 800m final she had looked at the medal every day and was an "emotional wreck" for the whole week leading up to the 1500m. Holmes again began the race from the back of the field, but matched the fast pace set of the Russian competitors, who included Tatyana Tomashova, the world champion. She moved towards the front on the final lap and took the lead on the home straight to finish in 3-minutes 57.90-seconds, a British record. By winning Olympic gold medals in 800m and 1500m races Holmes became only the third woman in history to achieve the middle-distance double, the others being Tatyana Kazankina of the Soviet Union in 1976, and Svetlana Masterkova of Russia in 1996. She is the only British athlete to have won two gold medals at a single Olympics since Albert Hill in 1920.

Awards

Army Track Athlete of the Year, 1989-97; European Championships, Helsinki, silver medal, for 1500m, 1994; Commonwealth Games, Victoria, gold medal, for 1500m, 1994; World Championships, Gothenburg, silver medal, for 1500m, and bronze medal, for 800m, 1995; Commonwealth Games, Kuala Lumpur, silver medal, for 1500m, 1998; Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), 1998;Olympic Games, Sydney, bronze medal, for 800m, 2000; Commonwealth Games, Manchester, gold medal, for 1500m, 2002; European Championships, Munich, bronze medal, for 800m, 2002; World Indoor Championships, silver medal, for 1500m, 2003; World Championships, silver medal, for 800m, 2003; Olympic Games, Athens, gold medals, for 800m and 1500m, 2004.

Early life and army career

Dame Kelly Holmes was born in Pembury, Kent, the daughter of Derrick Holmes, a Jamaican-born car mechanic, and an English mother, Pam Norman. Her mother 18 at the time of her birth, married painter and decorator Michael Norris seven years later, whom Holmes regards as her father, and the couple had two more children (Kevin b. 1977 and Stuart b. 1980) before splitting up in 1987. Holmes grew up in Hildenborough and attended Hildenborough CEP School, and then Hugh Christie Comprehensive School in Tonbridge at the age of 12. She is also a Supporter of the Conservative Party UK. She made a speech the Conservative Conference 2009 in Manchester for Sports and Olympics matters for 2012. She is also advising Boris Johnson on the Olympic Development for 2012.

She started training for athletics at the age of 12, joining Tonbridge Athletics Club, where she was coached by David Arnold and went on to win the English schools 1500 metres in her second season in 1983. Her hero was British middle distance runner Sebastian Coe, and she was inspired by Coe's successful 1984 Summer Olympics defence of his 1500 m crown.

However, Holmes later turned her back on athletics, joining the British Army at the age of 18, having left school two years earlier, working initially as a shop assistant in a sweet shop and later as a nursing assistant for disabled patients. In the Army, she was initially a lorry driver in the Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC), later becoming a basic physical training instructor (PTI). Holmes then elected in June 1990 to attend the first course to be run under the new Army Physical Training Corps syllabus, and successfully passed out as a 'Class 2 PTI'. Although militarily quite young, Holmes' athletic prowess was impressive and she was encouraged to attend the course selection for full-time transfer to the Army Physical Training Corps (APTC). At this time, selection courses for the APTC were conducted immediately following successful completion of the Class 2 PTI course; however, candidates had to be recommended to attend. Once again, the selection course was the first course to be run under the new syllabus, successful completion of which allowed attendance on the Junior and Senior Probationers' course at APTC, Aldershot.

Holmes eventually qualified as a 'Sergeant Class 1 PTI' and was transferred to the APTC from the (WRAC), which later disbanded in 1992, being absorbed into the Adjutant General's Corps. She also became British Army judo champion, and in Army athletics events once competed in the men's 800 metres at a meeting, as it was considered that for her to run in the women's event would be too embarrassing for the other competitors. At another event, she competed in and won an 800 metres, a 3000 metres and a relay race all in a single day. She also won the Heptathlon.

Holmes watched the 1992 Summer Olympics on television, and seeing Lisa York in the heats of the 3000 metres, an athlete whom she had competed against, and beaten, decided to return to athletics. For several years she combined both athletics and her employment in the army, until increased funding allowed her to become a full-time athlete in 1997.

2004 Athens Olympic Games

While training in 2003 for the 2004 Summer Olympics at a French training camp, Holmes suffered leg injuries and was very depressed, she began to meditate using an English lantern "I made one cut for every day that I had been injured", Holmes stated in an interview with News of the World newspaper. At least once, she considered suicide, but she eventually sought help from a doctor and was diagnosed with clinical depression. While she could not use anti-depressants because it would affect her performance, she began using herbal serotonin tablets. In 2005, after her achievements at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Holmes chose to talk about her self-harm to show others that being a professional athlete is an extremely difficult thing to do and places the athlete under tremendous amounts of stress.

2004 saw Holmes arrive at a major competition, the Athens Olympics, with no injury worries for just about the first time in her career. She had originally planned to compete in just the 1500 m but a victory over Jolanda Čeplak before the games had many saying she should take her chance in the 800 m as well. Holmes did not announce her decision to race in both events until five days before the 800 m finals.

Along with three time World Champion Maria de Lurdes Mutola and Čeplak, Holmes was considered one of the favourites for the gold medal in the 800 m. In the final, Holmes ran a well-paced race, ignoring a fast start by a number of the other competitors, and moved into the lead ahead of Mutola on the final bend, taking the gold on the line ahead of Hasna Benhassi and Čeplak, with Mutola in fourth. Holmes became the seventh British woman to win an athletics gold, and the second after Ann Packer in 1964 to win the 800 metres.

Clearly in form, Holmes now became favourite for her preferred event, the 1500 metres on the 28 August. Her most difficult task now was maintaining her focus - she later revealed how after waking each morning she had put her medal on and cried.

Again running from the rear of the field, she took the lead in the final straight, holding off World Champion Tatyana Tomashova of Russia. She thus became only the third woman in history to do the 800 m and 1500 m double (after Tatyana Kazankina of the Soviet Union in 1976 and Svetlana Masterkova of Russia in 1996), the first British woman to win two Olympic gold medals, and the country's first double gold medallist at the same games since Albert Hill in 1920. Her time of 3 minutes 57.90 seconds in the 1500 m final also set a new British record for the distance.

Subsequently, Holmes was given the honour of carrying the British flag at the closing ceremony of the games, on 29 August, the day after her second victory. A home-coming parade was held in her honour through the streets of Hildenborough and Tonbridge on 1 September, which was attended by approximately 40,000 people. This was more than double the size of crowds at the parade through London for all the Olympic medallists, and roughly equivalent to the entire population of Hildenborough and Tonbridge (although there were many visitors from outside the local area). Holmes won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2004, saying she achieved her goals after "twenty years of dreaming". She also asserted the award was "the biggest sporting honour your country can give you". The tributes to her at the BBC awards ceremony were led by the six British female athletes who had previously won gold at the Olympic Games in a "Magnificent Seven"-style feature - those six being Mary Rand, Ann Packer, Mary Peters, Tessa Sanderson, Sally Gunnell and Denise Lewis.

Damehood and post-athletics career

Holmes was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the New Year's Honours List of 2005.^[2] She was presented with the honour by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 9 March 2005, accompanied by her parents and grandfather. She had previously been appointed a Member of the Military Division of the same Order (MBE) in 1998 for services to the British Army. As she has awards in both the Civil Division and Military Division, she is entitled to use both post-nominals.

On 28 December 2004, she appeared on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.

Since 2004, Kelly has taken part in Norwich Union sponsored "On Camp with Kelly" athletics camps helping train junior athletes.

In 2005 she won the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year. That same year, she named the P&O Cruise ship MS Arcadia.^[3]

On 21 August 2005, she competed in her final race in the UK, the 800 m at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix meeting in Sheffield. Her training schedule during the summer of 2005 had been disrupted by a recurrent Achilles tendon injury, and she finished the race in 8th place, limping across the finish line and completing a lap of honour on a buggy.

On 6 December 2005, Holmes announced her retirement from athletics, stating she had reassessed her future after the death of a friend as well as citing a lack of motivation to continue.

In 2006, Kelly appeared in ITV's Dancing On Ice, partnering Olympian Todd Sand.

On 16 September 2007, Holmes presented the weekly round-up of sports news on the BBC London News as an apparent substitute for regular presenter Mark Bright. Holmes was introduced by anchorwoman Riz Lateef without explanation. Reading from the autocue in a glamorous dress with elaborate hairstyle, Holmes appeared confident and enthusiastic, leading to speculation that this might presage a career in broadcasting. Neither the BBC nor Holmes have made any public statement.

Over summer 2008, Holmes starred in Five's Superstars as the captain of the Red Team, also including fellow athlete Iwan Thomas. The Red Team finished 2nd out of the four teams, losing to 'Sir Steve's Whites' captained by ex-Olympic rower, Sir Steve Redgrave in the final.

Kelly was chosen as one of the names for the school houses at Rainham School for Girls, located in her native Kent in 2008. Of the five women chosen she is the only one still living.

Kelly is the aunt of British decathlete, Andrew Holmes. ^[4]

She is referenced in the Doctor Who episode "Fear Her" – the story takes place in "Dame Kelly Holmes Close". Appropriately enough, it is also set during the 2012 London Olympics.

In May 2009 Dame Kelly Holmes was named as the new president of Commonwealth Games England, succeeding Sir Chris Chataway, who had held the post since 1994. Commonwealth Games England chairman Sir Andrew Foster said: "Dame Kelly has been an outstanding athlete both for Team England and Great Britain. "She is a truly inspirational and respected figure in the sporting world and will be a wonderful ambassador for Commonwealth Games England." ^[5]

Achievements

Personal bests

Event	Time	Venue	Date
600 metres	1:25.41 (British record)	Liège, Belgium	2 September 2003
800 metres	1:56.21 (British record)	Monte Carlo, Monaco	9 September 1995
800 metres (indoor)	1:59.21 (British record)	Gent, Belgium	9 February 2003
1000 metres	2:32.55 (British record)	Leeds, United Kingdom	15 June 1997
1000 metres (indoor)	2:32.96 (British record)	Birmingham, United Kingdom	20 February 2004
1500 metres	3:57.90 (British record)	Athens, Greece	28 August 2004
1500 metres (indoor)	4:02.66 (British record)	Birmingham, United Kingdom	16 March 2003
One mile	4:28.04	Glasgow, United Kingdom	30 August 1998
3000 metres	9:01.91	Gateshead, United Kingdom	13 July 2003

All information taken from IAAF profile and UK All time lists.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Competition record

Year	Tournament	Venue	Event	Result
1993	World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	800 m	5th (sf)
1994	Commonwealth Games	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada	1500 m	1st
	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	1500 m	2nd
	IAAF World Cup	London, England	1500 m	3rd
	European Cup	Birmingham, England	800 m	2nd
1995	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	800 m	3rd
			1500 m	2nd
	European Cup	Villeneuve d'Ascq, France	800 m	1st
1996	European Cup	Madrid, Spain	800 m	2nd
	Olympic Games	Atlanta, Georgia, United States	800 m	4th
			1500 m	11th
1997	European Cup	Munich, Germany	1500 m	1st
1998	Commonwealth Games	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	1500 m	2nd
1999	World Championships	Seville, Spain	800 m	4th (sf)
2000	Summer Olympics	Sydney, Australia	800 m	3rd
			1500 m	7th
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	800 m	6th
2002	European Championships	Munich, Germany	800 m	3rd
			1500 m	4th (h)
	Commonwealth Games	Manchester, England	1500 m	1st
2003	World Championships	Paris, France	800 m	2nd
			1500 m	9th
	World Indoor Championships	Birmingham, England	1500 m	2nd
	IAAF World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	800 m	2nd
2004	Summer Olympics	Athens, Greece	800 m	1st
			1500 m	1st
	IAAF World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	1500 m	1st

Note: In addition to these achievements, Holmes has also won 12 national titles.

Bibliography

Holmes, Kelly; Richard Lewis (2004). My Olympic Ten Days. Virgin Books. ISBN 1-85227-222-8.
Holmes, Kelly (2005). Kelly Holmes: Black, White & Gold:The Autobiography. Virgin Books. ISBN 1-85227-224-4.

References

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)

^ uk:athletics profile. Retrieved on 2008-08-17
^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57509, p. 7, 2004-12-31. Retrieved on 2008-07-12.
^ P&O Cruises Official Website | Learn More - Our Ships - About Arcadia
^ http://thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=28781
^ BBC Sports
^ Biographies: Holmes, Kelly. Retrieved on 2009-04-10.
^ United Kingdom All-time Lists - Women (800-5000). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2009-03-10.
^ United Kingdom All-time Lists - Women (60-600). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2009-03-10.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kelly Holmes

Articles

The Guardian profile: Kelly Holmes
BBC Sport The real Holmes truth
BBC Sport Holmes reveals self-harm ordeal
BBC Sport Holmes makes emotional farewell
BMI Voyager Magazine How Kelly Holmes inspires young girls on the sports field - Interview
On Camp With Kelly
Early years in athletics from Spikes Magazine

Awards
Preceded by Carolina Klüft	Women's European Athlete of the Year 2004	Succeeded by Yelena Isinbayeva
Preceded by Jonny Wilkinson	BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2004	Succeeded by Andrew Flintoff
Preceded by Annika Sörenstam	World Sportswoman of the Year 2005	Succeeded by Janica Kostelic

v • d • e Olympic Champions in Women's 800 m

1928: Lina Radke • 1960: Lyudmila Shevtsova • 1964: Ann Packer • 1968: Madeline Manning • 1972: Hildegard Falck • 1976: Tatyana Kazankina • 1980: Nadezhda Olizarenko • 1984: Doina Melinte • 1988: Sigrun Wodars • 1992: Ellen van Langen • 1996: Svetlana Masterkova • 2000: Maria de Lurdes Mutola • 2004: Kelly Holmes • 2008: Pamela Jelimo

v • d • e Olympic Champions in Women's 1500 m

1972: Lyudmila Bragina • 1976: Tatyana Kazankina • 1980: Tatyana Kazankina • 1984: Gabriella Dorio • 1988: Paula Ivan • 1992: Hassiba Boulmerka • 1996: Svetlana Masterkova • 2000: Nouria Mérah-Benida • 2004: Kelly Holmes • 2008: Nancy Lagat

v • d • e Commonwealth Champions in Women's 1500 m

1970: Rita Ridley (ENG) • 1974: Glenda Reiser (CAN) • 1978: Mary Stewart (ENG) • 1982: Christina Boxer (ENG) • 1986: Kirsty Wade (WAL) • 1990: Angela Chalmers (CAN) • 1994: Kelly Holmes (ENG) • 1998: Jackline Maranga (KEN) • 2002: Kelly Holmes (ENG) • 2006: Lisa Dobriskey (ENG)

World Best Year Performance in Women's 1500 m

1970 – 1971: Karin Burneleit (GDR) • 1972: Lyudmila Bragina (URS) • 1973: Karin Krebs (GDR) • 1974: Gunhild Hoffmeister (GDR) • 1975: Nina Morgunova (URS) • 1976: Tatyana Kazankina (URS) • 1977: Natalia Marasescu (ROM) • 1978: Gyana Romanova (URS) • 1979: Totka Petrova (BUL) • 1980: Tatyana Kazankina (URS) • 1981 – 1982: Olga Dvirna (URS) • 1983: Mary Slaney (USA) • 1984: Nadezhda Ralldugina (URS) • 1985: Mary Slaney (USA) • 1986: Doina Melinte (ROM) • 1987: Tetyana Dorovskikh (URS) • 1988 – 1989: Paula Ivan (ROU) • 1990: Doina Melinte (ROM) • 1991: Natalya Artyomova (RUS) • 1992: Hassiba Boulmerka (ALG) • 1993: Qu Yunxia (CHN) • 1994 – 1995: Sonia O'Sullivan (IRL) • 1996: Svetlana Masterkova (RUS) • 1997: Jiang Bo (CHN) • 1998: Gabriela Szabo (ROM) • 1999: Violeta Szekely (ROM) • 2000: Suzy Favor-Hamilton (USA) • 2001: Violeta Szekely (ROM) • 2002 – 2003: Süreyya Ayhan (TUR) • 2004: Kelly Holmes (GBR) • 2005: Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR) • 2006: Yuliya Fomenko (RUS) • 2007 – 2008: Yelena Soboleva (RUS)

v • d • e British Olympic Champions in Women's Athletics

1964: Mary Rand (long jump) \| 1964: Ann Packer (800 m) \| 1972: Mary Peters (pentathlon) \| 1984: Tessa Sanderson (javelin) \| 1992: Sally Gunnell (400 m hurdles) \| 2000: Denise Lewis (heptathlon) \| 2004: Kelly Holmes (800 m & 1500 m) \| 2008: Christine Ohuruogu (400m)

v • d • e BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners

1954–1959	1954 Christopher Chataway · 1955 Gordon Pirie · 1956 Jim Laker · 1957 Dai Rees · 1958 Ian Black · 1959 John Surtees

1960–1969	1960 David Broome · 1961 Stirling Moss · 1962 Anita Lonsbrough · 1963 Dorothy Hyman · 1964 Mary Rand · 1965 Tom Simpson · 1966 Bobby Moore · 1967 Henry Cooper · 1968 David Hemery · 1969 Ann Jones

1970–1979	1970 Henry Cooper · 1971 HRH The Princess Anne · 1972 Mary Peters · 1973 Jackie Stewart · 1974 Brendan Foster · 1975 David Steele · 1976 John Curry · 1977 Virginia Wade · 1978 Steve Ovett · 1979 Sebastian Coe

1980–1989	1980 Robin Cousins · 1981 Ian Botham · 1982 Daley Thompson · 1983 Steve Cram · 1984 Torvill and Dean (Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean) · 1985 Barry McGuigan · 1986 Nigel Mansell · 1987 Fatima Whitbread · 1988 Steve Davis · 1989 Nick Faldo

1990–1999	1990 Paul Gascoigne · 1991 Liz McColgan · 1992 Nigel Mansell · 1993 Linford Christie · 1994 Damon Hill · 1995 Jonathan Edwards · 1996 Damon Hill · 1997 Greg Rusedski · 1998 Michael Owen · 1999 Lennox Lewis

2000–2009	2000 Steve Redgrave · 2001 David Beckham · 2002 Paula Radcliffe · 2003 Jonny Wilkinson · 2004 Kelly Holmes · 2005 Andrew Flintoff · 2006 Zara Phillips · 2007 Joe Calzaghe · 2008 Chris Hoy · 2009 Ryan Giggs

v • d • e Winners of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year

2000: Marion Jones* · 2001: Cathy Freeman · 2002: Jennifer Capriati · 2003: Serena Williams · 2004: Annika Sörenstam · 2005: Kelly Holmes · 2006: Janica Kostelić · 2007: Yelena Isinbayeva · 2008: Justine Henin · 2009: Yelena Isinbayeva

* Since this award, Jones has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. Her award is in doubt.

Persondata
NAME	Holmes, Kelly
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Dame Kelly Holmes
SHORT DESCRIPTION	British middle distance athlete and Olympic gold medallist
DATE OF BIRTH	19 April 1970
PLACE OF BIRTH	Pembury, Kent, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

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