At 43, Dame Kelly Holmes is just as fit as she was nine years ago when she won gold medals for the 800 and 1500 metres races at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. And this year, she is not only participating in the Powerman UK duathalon in Sherborne, Dorset in May but will also be taking on the 2014 UK Challenge — a corporate team building event which will see 70 teams battle it out in Snowdonia, in July.
But before that, she’ll be running the 5k Color Run, organised by Activelife, on Saturday, at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Holmes ran the Dubai Color Run last December and is happy to return.
“My intervention is to create awareness and laying emphasis regarding leading a healthy lifestyle,” Holmes told tabloid! last week. “All that I have seen happening in the UAE is very positive and yes everyone here deserves to enjoy the benefits. But it’s also important for them to realise the need of consistency in sports. Having an event [such as a 5k run or a marathon] is important because it gives people a focus or a goal. If somebody wants to participate in an event, it encourages them to start working towards it now rather than a day before the event.
“I also feel it’s all about education because child obesity is a big issue here. It’s about knowing the impact it’ll have on productivity and life. If somebody isn’t healthy, they will not be able to perform their best — psychologically, physically or communicating effectively.
“I think those messages have to come out because we are relying on our youth to be the future and if you want them to have high positions in life you have to see that they have focus, awareness, alertness — all of those things that come with participating in some kind of activity to keep your body in a healthier state.”
Holmes has had an illustrious athletic career having set British records in numerous events, winning the gold in 1500 metres at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the bronze for 800 metres at Munich European Championships the same year. In 2003, she took silver medals in the 1500 metres at the World Indoor Championships and the 800 metres at the World Championships and first World Athletics Final. After winning the Olympics double gold, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005. Today she mentors promising woman athletes.
Excerpts:
You have faced several challenges in your athletic career. What do you advise woman athletes?
From my perspective, and having mentored several young woman athletes over the past 11 years, I believe if you give a woman the opportunity to excel, she will bring a positive influence and effort all around her. Giving people the opportunity to reach their full potential makes them happier too. That’s first and foremost.
Secondly, I like my food (laughs), so I participate in sports and activities to enjoy that and also because I want to look good. Some of the women I have worked with are all about body image, self consciousness and awareness.
Unfortunately sometimes magazines and shows have a negative image with someone who’s really, really slim. Effectively, that person could be unhealthy because they are not eating properly or sleeping properly, they may not be doing any cardiovascular exercise. Then they have got women who have families. At what stage is it wise to have one [family] as a sportsperson? I mean, I haven’t had children because I’ve been in the British army for 10 years and when I came out I was very focused on my athletic career and trained for my Olympic championships and that happened at 34. So by that time I felt, I was too old to have children because there were other things I wanted to do.
So, fundamentally, as an individual, you have to be happy in your own life. Sports activities make you feel better not just physically but psychologically as well, because you meet fun people such as you, and you think “Ya, I feel better”.
So you feel woman athletes have to make sacrifices to gain success?
It’s different for different people. I had a goal, so for me they were not sacrifices, they were choices. To be an Olympian champion I had to leave some things behind, I had to be selfish and be away from home. And I think I’m satisfied because I have achieved the outcome I’d hoped for. I believe if you have achieved that one thing special to you, then it’s fine.
How has being a woman in armed forces helped you?
It has had a huge effect. As an athlete you need disciple and in the forces you meet people from different backgrounds, you learn to adapt to situations and then you have people who keep you on the right track so that you do your job effectively — all this have an effect on you. You have ranks that command respect and while you don’t have ranks in sports, you have respect for the people who help you get there — your coaches, your physiotherapist, your training partners.
When I went into the army, I was 17-18 and I had to give up sports. But when I finished five years, I returned to athletics. By then I’d learnt so much about myself, had so much more determination because the road to success is so much harder for a woman in the military to make her mark. So, not just in terms of sports, I was also ready to face any challenges in my life. So, army teaches you to be committed, disciplined in the training regime and have respect for the people who help you.
Who would you call your mentors?
My physical instructor at school. Her name was Debbie Page. You see, I wasn’t so academically inclined and this lady told me “if you want to be good at something, you have to focus on believing in yourself”. That was the reason why I excelled, because she was the only woman who told me I could be actually good at something. I think her words just sunk in. I started winning contests and championships a little after she said this. I will never forget her.
After winning the Olympic gold medals, she was the first person I called up when I came back to Britain. She was there in my homecoming parade. I also cannot forget my coaches who guided me. And now, it’s changed: I mentor people because you learn from situations, from people who have experienced them and have been a part of them.
Apart from determination, drive and hard work, what do you feel one needs to succeed?
Knowledge and understanding of what you are doing is very important. You have to do research, you can never stop learning. Also, look at other people’s journey and take inspiration from them. Learn from their mistakes, because nobody becomes really good until they commit a few mistakes. Then, you can’t give up at the first challenge because not everyone tastes success that early. Successful people are successful because they kept trying and going on.
What do you think is the competitive age of an athlete?
It depends on the sport. At 34, I was a little older when I won my Olympic medals because when you see the average age of the winners at that time, everyone was 30-31. I would have been a winner earlier but the injuries I suffered in the army — leg injuries, stress fractured calf, Achilles tendon — didn’t let me succeed.
But there’s nothing that passion and focus on a goal cannot achieve. In my sport — middle distance running — women were slightly older. But yes, in the last five years the age group has come down. There are now 24-, 25- 27-year-olds achieving. So the age has slightly changed. Then in some sports, such as gymnastics, you are retired by the age of 19-20; swimming — we have an athlete who won two gold medals at Beijing and she’s retired at 23. It all depends on the individual and the body that’s going to take me there.
What is your typical training regime today?
I go to the gym 5-6 times a week. I do body weight and circuit training, sit ups and press ups. But I do shorter, more intense sessions because of lack of time, really getting the heart and lungs going. A lot of people have the misconception that they have to be in the gym for one or two hours every day to get fit, however, you can actually stay fit by just doing high-intensity or short recovery session of 20 minutes.
Box:
The Color Run will take place at Yas Marina Circuit, Gate 20. Event starts 8.30am and concludes at noon. For more information log on to Thecolorrun.ae/Abu-Dhabi
