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Dame Kelly Holmes is a highly respected Olympic gold medallist and an exceptional high-performance speaker. Renowned for her achievements in athletics, she has transitioned into a successful career as a motivational speaker, sharing her personal journey of triumph and resilience. Her powerful storytelling and unique perspective on mental health, determination, and success make her an inspiring figure in both the sports world and the corporate sector. With an extensive background in high-performance environments, she offers invaluable insights into overcoming obstacles and achieving greatness.
Kelly’s journey to success began at a young age, where she discovered her passion for athletics. Early on, she balanced her budding sports career with her service in the British Army, where she worked as a Physical Training Instructor. Her discipline and determination were key factors in her rise to the top of British athletics. By 2004, she achieved two Olympic gold medals in the 800m and 1500m at the Athens Olympics, becoming the first British woman in history to win both titles at a single Games. This moment was the pinnacle of her athletic career, following years of hard work, perseverance, and personal sacrifice.
Since retiring from competitive athletics, Kelly has continued to excel, using her platform to advocate for mental health awareness, particularly within high-performance environments. She founded the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust in 2008, a charity dedicated to supporting young people facing adversity through sport. Recently, she has been open about her own struggles with mental health, sharing her experiences to help others facing similar challenges. In 2022, she publicly came out as gay, further demonstrating her commitment to authenticity and empowering others to embrace their true selves.
Kelly is hired as a high-performance speaker due to her unparalleled experience in overcoming obstacles, both on and off the track. Her ability to connect with diverse audiences, from athletes to corporate teams, stems from her real-life experiences of achieving excellence in the face of adversity. As a speaker, she inspires individuals to push past their limits and perform at their highest potential, making her a sought-after voice in the world of leadership, motivation, and mental health.
Kelly Holmes is regularly booked to engage audiences at events, read their latest feedback below:
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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!”
“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.”
The High-Performance Speakers Agency is the UK’s leading bureau for teamwork, leadership, and marginal gains speakers. We hire speakers for corporate conferences and events across the world and cater to both in-person occasions and online webinars. Our roster includes sportspeople, business leaders, adventurers and more, to ensure audiences of all industries receive tailored, impactful advice on optimised performance.
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