Dame Kelly Holmes: A Woman Who Inspires

A woman I admire for her ability to endure is Dame Kelly Holmes. She is a retired British middle distance athlete and her life inspires in so many ways. Ms. Holmes journey towards success, was initiated at quite a young age and there were a few bumps in the road along the way. She persevered and that is why I am sharing her incredible story. Kelly Holmes was born on April 19th 1970 in Pembury Kent to a Jamaican father and English mother. She began her athletic training in 1982 at the age of 12 by joining the Tonbridge Athletics Club. During her second season in 1983, she won the English School’s 1500 metres, according to Wikepedia. At age 18, however, Holmes turned her back on sports, and joined the British army.

The successful athlete quit school at 16 and began working in a sweet shop. This does not sound like she was headed towards a promising future. She later was employed as a nursing assistant for disabled patients, which a rewarding yet low paying job. In the army, Holmes started out as a HGV driver in the Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC), and later became a basic PTI, (physical training instructor). Her life from this point would be onward and upward. Please note this is not an enforcement for not completing ones education, but is the story of how one woman overcame the odds and became successful.

In June of 1990 Kelly Holmes decided to attend the first course offered under the Army's new Physical Training syllabus. She successfully completed the course work and became a Class 2 PTI. Although military wise, she was rather young, Holmes' athletic prowess impressed her peers and they encouraged her to attend the course selection for a full-time transfer to the Royal Army Physical Training Corps (RAPTC). She went on to qualify as a PTI Sargent class 1. Holmes later became the British Army judo champion and even once competed in the men's 1500 metres during the Army Championships. This was because her speed was so great, it was believed she might embarrass the other competitors if she ran in the women's event. That’s truly a rare ability. During a different competition she won a relay race, the heptathlon, an 800 metres, and 3000 metres all in the same day. Thats pretty impressive when you excel at everything.

In 1992, while watching the Summer Olympics on television, Holmes saw Lisa York in the heats of the 3000 metres. York was an athlete that Kelly had previously competed against, and beaten. It was at this point she decided to return to her first love, and combined athletics with her employment in the Army, In 1997, increased funding made it possible for Holmes to become a full-time athlete. In 2003, while preparing at a French training camp for the 2004 Summer Olympics Kelly Holmes suffered injuries to her legs and her life took a sharp turn. She went into a state of depression and this is when she began cutting herself. In an interview with the News of the World newspaper Holmes said that she made one cut every day that she was injured and once even contemplated suicide. She had the wits about her however to seek medical help and was diagnosed with clinical depression.

Holmes could not take anti-depressants because of the effect it would have on her performance. She instead decided to utilize herbal serotonin tablets. After her achievements during the 2004 Summer Olympics, Kelly Holmes decided to go public about harming herself. In 2005 she let others know how difficult it was being a professional athlete because of the tremendous amount of stress that comes with it. Holmes said in September 2017, that at her lowest point she was cutting herself with scissors. Her honesty won the gifted athlete instant praise from the Twitterverse. I admire Kelly Holmes for being so transparent regarding her mental health issues.

So many times it is assumed that Athletes are disciplined, healthy, and have it all together. Kelly Holmes story shows that any human under great pressure can bend, but don’t have to break. By admitting her struggles it will open the door for others to not be ashamed of depression, cutting, and or suicidal thoughts. Perhaps this will lead a few athletes not to push themselves so hard to achieve a personal best. Dame Kelly’s mental health issues will also dispel the myth that black women don't cut themselves. Decades ago, African Americans of older generations used to say that "black folk" don't attempt suicide but we now know that mental illness does not discriminate based on race.

Kelly Holmes is the seventh British female to win an athletics gold, and the second to win the 800 metres, after Ann Packer who won in 1964. Holmes was also given the honour of carrying the British flag furing the closing ceremony of the games, on August 29th the day after achieving her second victory. There was achome-coming parade held in her honour that went through the streets of Tonbridge and Hildenborough on September 1st. This event was said to have been attended by approximately 40,000 people. In 2004, Holmes was named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and stated that she, achieved her goals after "twenty years of dreaming". She expressed her appreciation by saying that this particular award was the biggest sporting honour a country could bestow.

Holmes received a double honor when tributes to her during the BBC awards ceremony were led by the six female British athletes who had previously won Olympic gold. Kelly and her six fellow athletes presented a sort of "Magnificent Seven"-style feature. The six women were Denise Le, Ann Packer, Mary Rand, Sally Gunnel, Mary Peters, snd Tessa Sanderson.

Here are five reasons I believe Kelly Holmes is a woman who inspires.

1. She did not allow adversity to stop her from achieving her goals and persevered. It took 20 years but she did it. This should encourage us all to never give up no matter how long it takes.

2. The way she dealt with her depression lets is know there are successful alternatives for those who do not desire to depend on prescription medication.

3. Her struggles with depression and cutting prove that athletes are not super human beings and just because they are physically fit does not indicate that emotional challenges will not come.

4. She was not afraid to go public with her medical issues and believed that knowledge of what she went through will benefit others. Perhaps now more people dealing with depression and or cutting will get the help they need.

5. Kelly Holmes has remained humble in spite of her many awards and Olympic gold. She is an inspiration to all women that dreams can come true. She is especially a hero to women of color because while we celebrate all successes, it’s a bit more encouraging to see someone who looks like you achieve their goals.