Celebrating 20 years since those extraordinary wins at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. Double Olympic Champion Dame Kelly Holmes, is respected around the world as a role model and inspiration. Joining the British Army at 17, serving for nearly 10 years as a qualified HGV driver and Physical Training Instructor. In 1998, Dame Kelly was awarded an MBE, in recognition of her services to the armed forces, by the now King Charles.
During a 12 year international career, Kelly won multiple medals at Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic level, culminating in two Gold Medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics Games for the 800m and 1500m, which cemented her place in history as the first women ever in Great Britain to win two gold medals at the same games. In 2005 she was honoured with a Damehood for services to sport by the late Queen Elizabeth.
In 2008, Kelly founded and is now President of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, which puts world class athletes shoulder to shoulder with disadvantaged young people to engage, enable and empower them to be the best version of themselves, for which she won a Beacon Award for Philanthropy in 2017 and an Sport and Recreation Alliance – Arthur Bell Trophy in 2023.
From 2018 - 2024 she was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment. Dame Kelly became the first person to be attached to a regular regiment as an Honorary Colonel which was required to be signed off by the late Queen Elizabeth. In 2024 Kelly was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists to add to the other 13 she has received since retiring.
In June 2022 Dame Kelly's powerful documentary; Kelly Holmes: Being Me, aired on ITV. Kelly is now free to be her authentic self, she is using her voice to educate and inform on D&I matters. Dame Kelly has been Global Inspirational and Motivational speaker for over 20years. She is TV Presenter, a trained Mental Health First Aider and a voice for change. She is a true role model, inspiration and trailblazer for many causes.
With a plethora of prestigious clients having already hired her for speaking engagements, including the likes of Ernst & Young and Mondelez, Kelly was invited to deliver the TEDx Talk "Life Discovery". If you are looking for a motivational speaker who can drive honest conversations surrounding mental health, wellbeing and LGBT+ rights, don’t hesitate to hire Dame Kelly Holmes today!
In recognition of her advocacy for the LGBT+ community, Dame Kelly Holmes was recently named as one of the Official Top 15 Speakers to Hire for LGBT+ History Month!
Social Media
Books
Just Go For It: 6 Simple Steps To Achieve Success
Running Life: Mindset, Fitness & Nutrition For Positive Wellbeing
Black, White & Gold: My Autobiography
Kelly Holmes: Unique – A Memoir
Reviews
Dame Kelly Holmes received a 5 star rating across 20 events in 2023
Agent Recommendation
"Dame Kelly Holmes is an exceptional motivational speaker, inspiring audiences with her story of overcoming adversity to achieve Olympic gold. Her unwavering determination, military discipline and triumphs in athletics make her a powerful advocate for perseverance, peak performance and resilience. Kelly's journey is a testament to her incredible spirit and ability to motivate others."
How to hire Dame Kelly Holmes
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Dame Kelly Holmes for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
Dame Kelly Holmes' official speaking topics are listed below:
- Motivation & Inspiration
- Mental Health in the Workplace
- Performance, Resilience & Overcoming Adversity
- Inspirational Leadership
- Goal Setting & High Performing Teams
- Health, Wellbeing & Nutrition
- Elite Sports Performance
- Women's Empowerment
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
Feedback from In-Person Events:
"Charles Stanley Plc has been a stockbroker and provider of financial services since 1792. Today the company continues to grow with offices nationwide offering a complete investment management service to their clients. Kelly drew on her own inspirational story to deliver a motivational after dinner speech to senior employees of Charles Stanley Plc at their 2013 Business Conference." - David, Chairman
"She was amazing!" - RMP Enterprise
"We had an amazing day and Dame Kelly was an excellent ambassador! Kelly was happy to have numerous selfies and spend time talking to the staff in the call centre which meant a lot! Her speech was brilliant and kept us all spellbound and to some a bit emotional." - Michelle, Newlyn Connect Centre”
"Please pass our thanks on to Kelly. The delegates' loved her and all staff was in agreement that she was the best speaker that we have ever had!" - Petrina, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
"Many thanks for arranging Dame Kelly. She was amazing and went down a storm at our event. Lovely lady who had time to speak with a lot of people." – Carmelle JCI
"It was fabulous – she is such a lovely woman and the energy from the audience was fantastic, they all loved her and bless her she was mobbed afterwards for photos and chats and she had time for everyone, really couldn’t have asked for a better guest for our first live event – she has set the bar high." - Sky
"She was fantastic. Really engaging and spent so much time with everyone. It’s being really talked about across the company - people just loved her session and how engaging she was. Thank you!" - Duncan, Domestic & General
"Kelly was incredible! Thanks! "- Lucy, Healthcircle
"Kelly was fantastic. We enjoyed having her on stage and the audience were clearly engaged - she covered a wide variety of topics in a relatable way. I have heard nothing but positive feedback from attendees. The crowd were particularly interested in her charitable endeavours. She was both humble and inspiring." - Indeed
"Would you be able to pass on not only my thanks but a huge thank you to Dame Kelly on behalf of everyone at the hospice. Dame Kelly truly went above and beyond for the hospice on Friday and we are extremely grateful. It was an absolute pleasure for our Fundraising Director to show Dame Kelly around the hospice prior to the event. The audience absolutely loved Dame Kelly’s interview with Dougie on stage and thought she really was a true inspiration. We truly hope Dame Kelly enjoyed being involved."- Amanda, The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice
"I just wanted to give feedback on how great Dame Kelly was, not only inspiring and motivational, just took every business-related question and could relate it either to her time in the Army or Athletics. She was also very open her life and the mental and physical challenges she has been through. I also need to add she was lovely, very warm, joined us for lunch, happy to do selfies etc. Our President and SVP were equally impressed and inspired. I could not recommend any higher, just brilliant." - Mark, Vice President, Hitachi Vantara
"Wow Wow Wow! Kelly was fantastic yesterday. We got really great feedback from attendees. Inspirational, Genuine, Authentic were words that were used." - Brad, Head of Events, Rothesay
"It was a powerful session and we have received so much positive feedback from those that attended. The intersectionality and sheer variety of topics that were covered made for such a rich discussion and we only wished we could have heard her speak for hours longer!" - Amber, Global Brand Manager, American Express
Feedback from Virtual Events:
"Everyone absolutely loved Kelly, she is so fantastic." - Ernst & Young
"It went very well! Better than we could have imagined – very positive feedback. Dame Kelly even joined in on our cocktail making session after! Our clients absolutely loved it. Thank you so much for helping us arrange!!" - Ruby @ Exponential E
"If you could pass on to Kelly a personal thanks from myself and Katie. The talk exceeded our expectations, the energy, authenticity and inspiration Kelly gave our colleagues was brilliant and since the session finished only 30 minutes ago, we have been inundated with positive feedback and comments. A huge thank you for agreeing to be part of our employee wellbeing initiative"- Megan, MDLZ
"That was a fantastic session with Kelly, we really enjoyed having her speak. Please do pass on our thanks and appreciation. So many questions and not enough time but people thoroughly enjoyed her and found her inspirational and motivational." - Morven, Global Head of Reward and Benefits, Maples Group
"Obviously you are a natural but we want to thank you for being so open and honest and giving such great advice. Louis and I enjoyed every minute and you made us feel so comfortable. We both agree this has gone down as a top moment in our careers and a proud moment for our Ethnicity ERG we hope by having these talks we can help people to be confident in being more themselves at work and hopefully we will see more people from different backgrounds feel like they fit in at a place like Exertis." - Alisha, New Business Onboarding Specialist, Exertis
"It was a great session and really well received." - Morven, Maples Group
- 2024 - Talk SPORT Commentator for the Paris 2024 Olympics
- 2024 - Led the Team Samaritans Support Squad at the TCS London Marathon
- 2023 - Recipient of the Sport and Recreation Alliance – Arthur Bell Trophy
- 2022 - Came out publicly as gay in an interview with the Sunday Mirror & starred in "Kelly Holmes: Being Me"
- 2022 - Regular Panellist on ITV's "Loose Women"
- 2018 - Made Honorary Colonel of the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment
- 2017 - Recipient of the Beacon Award for Philanthropy
- 2015 - Starred in "Bear Grylls: Mission Survive" on ITV
- 2010 - Inducted into the England Athletics Hall of Fame
- 2009 - Named President of Commonwealth Games England
- 2008 - Founder of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust
- 2007 - Recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Loughborough University
- 2005 - Winner of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year
- 2005 - Appointed DBE for Services to Athletics
- 2004 - Named Women's European Athlete of the Year & BBC Sports Personality of the Year
- 2004 - Took part in "On Camp with Kelly" sponsored by Aviva
- 2003 - Broke the British Record for the 600m
- 1998 - Appointed MBE for Services to the British Army
- 1997 - Broke the British Record for the 1000m
- 1995 - Broke the British Record for the 800m
- 2 x Olympic Gold medallist in the 800m & 1500m
- 1 x Olympic Bronze medallist in the 800m
- 2x World Championships Silver medallist in 800m & 1500m
- 1 x World Championships Bronze medallist in 800m
- 1 x World Indoor Championships Silver medallist in 1500m
- 1 x European Championships Silver medallist in 1500m
- 1 x European Championships Bronze medallist in 800m
- 2 x Commonwealth Games Gold medallist in 1500m
- 1 x Commonwealth Games Silver medallist in 1500m
- Former HGV Driver in the Women's Royal Army Corps
