BBC SPORT | Athletics | Holmes hunts golden summer



By Tom Fordyce BBC Sport Online

Kelly Holmes goes into the Norwich Union Classic hoping to repeat her previous successes in Sheffield.

Four years ago at the Don Valley Stadium Holmes smashed the British and Commonwealth 1500m record with a brilliant run of 3mins 58.07secs.

This Sunday she goes in the 800m, but is once again feeling close to her best.

Kelly Holmes in action at last summer's World Championships
Holmes is injury-free for the first time in years
"For once, I haven't been injured and I had a really consistent winter of training - and that's been great," she says.

"It's a really big event for me. Coming up against Maria Mutola, Jolanda Ceplak and Irina Mistyukevich will be a hard one.

"It's a stepping-stone for the season. I'm running totally off strength at the moment, because I've been able to get in the background training I haven't in the past.

"I always enjoy running in Britain because of the extra support you get. It does put more pressure on you, but it brings the best out of you.

"Whatever happens, the race will give me the next gear I need for the rest of the season."

Holmes is probably the unluckiest athlete in Britain. Injury has laid waste to almost every season she has run.

That wonderful run in 1997 made her red-hot favourite for world championship gold - only for disaster to strike in Athens.

"Without sounding big-headed, I definitely know I could have run 3mins 55secs for 1500m that year," she says.

"Going into the Worlds I was ranked number one in the world, seconds faster than anyone else there - but then I fractured my calf and tore my Achilles in the first round of the heats.

"I've had nightmares almost every year but I've kept battling through, trying to get back.

"2000 was a prime example. I was injured for almost the entire year, managed just six weeks of intensive preparation before the Olympics and still got a bronze medal."

It is gutsy performances like that which have made Holmes one of the most popular members of the British athletics fraternity.

Kelly Holmes
Holmes is looking forward to running in Sheffield
Iwan Thomas, another one cursed by injury, cites Holmes' determination in the face of adversity as a major inspiration in his own comeback attempts.

"It's your head that keeps you going," says Holmes. "You have to believe things will turn around.

"I'm not a person who lives with regrets. I know I've always done my best, and I know that I've never let myself down.

"Sometimes my body has let me down, but never me as a person.

"I don't regret anything that has happened in my career, because I know I have always given it 100%. I'm just disappointed that I haven't achieved what I could have done in my career.

"I could have had three other championship gold medals if I hadn't had my injuries."

Tickets for the Norwich Union Classic, which will be broadcast live on the BBC, are available by phone on 0114 256 5656.


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