Kelly Holmes
Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010
BBC
4.4 • 804 Ratings
🗓️ 1 January 2006
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sue Lawley's castaway is the athlete Dame Kelly Holmes. Kelly Holmes was the heroine of the Athens Olympics. She achieved her lifetime's ambition when, at the age of 34, she won gold medals in the 800 and 1500 metres.
As a teenager she witnessed Sebastian Coe's Olympic success in 1984 and that was the inspiration behind her own career in athletics. Early on her trainers recognised she had the natural talent - and determination - to succeed. But her career has been blighted by injury - she bowed out of the 1996 Olympics due to injury; won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics despite considerable physical pain; and several times had appeared close to the end of her career as a result of a series of health problems.
Now retired from athletics, she says she wants to inspire other schoolchildren to take up sport - and make sure that the whole of Britain feels the Olympic spirit by the time it comes to host the games in 2012.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: If I Ain't Got You by Alicia Keys Book: A Set of Encyclopaedias Luxury: Large supply of chocolate
Transcript
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| 0:41.8 | For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music. |
| 0:44.9 | The program was originally broadcast in 2006, and the presenter was Sue Lawley. My cast away this week is an athlete. She was the British heroine of the Athens Olympics in 2004 |
| 1:11.9 | and finally retired from competitive running just before Christmas. Her great achievement, |
| 1:17.1 | two gold medals for the 800 and 1,500 metres, crowned a career that's seen her overcome many |
| 1:22.4 | personal and professional problems. She had a difficult childhood and has had a string of physical injuries. |
| 1:28.8 | But despite the setbacks, she's always worked hard at being fit and keeping alive the dream |
| 1:34.2 | of winning Olympic gold. Her resilience itself has brought her happiness. I've achieved |
| 1:39.7 | everything I wanted in my life, she said, on announcing her retirement, and I want to make the most of it from now on. |
| 1:45.7 | She is, of course, Kelly Holmes. |
| 1:47.5 | Kelly, you were 34 when you finally achieved that dream. |
| 1:50.9 | You had been injured in Atlanta in 96. |
| 1:53.7 | You've got bronze in Sydney in 2000. |
| 1:56.1 | Athens really was the last chance, wasn't it? |
| 1:58.9 | Yeah, definitely, it was. |
| 2:00.1 | And you never know when you're going to reach Olympic Games |
... |
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