Unique - A Memoir (Signed Edition)
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Unique - A Memoir (Signed Edition)

Unique - A Memoir (Signed Edition)

By
Kelly Holmes (Author)  

Hardback

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In national treasure Dame Kelly Holmes' most personal book yet, she tells the true story behind her extraordinary life from army recruit to Olympic hero and much- loved TV personality. Last year, Dame Kelly came out publicly as being gay and revealed that for the first 52 years of her life she'd been living a LIFE OF FEAR. Now in a heart-rending and inspirational new memoir she tells of her journey from hiding her sexuality as a young soldier at a time when being gay in the military was illegal, to her fears of being outed as she stood on the podium at the Athens Olympics, the games which catapulted her to fame as a double-gold medallist.

Dame Kelly tells how she has managed to find happiness and inner peace as she has opened herself to a world where she's finally free to be herself, and proud. In the last year she has become an unofficial ambassador for the LGBT community and has become one of the best- loved faces of daytime TV, joining the regular panel of ITV's Loose Women. This honest memoir is a tale of self-discovery, overcoming struggles and learning to be true to yourself. This honest memoir is a tale of self-discovery, overcoming struggles and learning to be true to yourself.

Dame Kelly says: "80,000 people were chanting my name as I stood on top of a double-decker bus and did a victory lap of my hometown. I'd won two Olympic gold medals, the first woman the UK to ever do that, and I should have been on top of the world at my homecoming parade but even in that magical moment I had this deep fear that someone was going to go to the media and out me for being gay. "All my life I lived with that fear and anxiety of not being accepted if I lived publicly as my true self. But 18 years later I was standing on stage in Trafalgar Square at London Pride, and people were chanting for me again, this time for the person I have become and I was finally free to be me. Nothing is perfect, the journey continues and I'm learning every day about the community I'm now proud to be part of. But I'm being true to myself and that means everything.

Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British middle distance athlete. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres and 1,500 metres events and won gold medals for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She set British records in numerous events and still holds the records over the 600, and 1,000 metre distances. She held the British 800 metre record until 2021. Inspired by a number of successful British middle-distance runners in the early 1980s, Holmes began competing in middle-distance events in her youth. She joined the British Army, but continued to compete at the organisation's athletics events. She turned to the professional athletics circuit in 1993 and in 1994 she won the 1,500 m at the Commonwealth Games and took silver at the European Championships. She won a silver and a bronze medal at the 1995 Gothenburg World Championships, but suffered from various injuries over the following years, failing to gain a medal at her first Olympics in Atlanta 1996 when running with a stress fracture. She won silver in the 1,500 m at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and bronze in the 800 m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, her first Olympic medal. Holmes won the 1,500 m at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the 800 m bronze at the Munich European Championships that year. The 2003 track season saw her take silver in the 1,500 m at the World Indoor Championships and the 800 m silver medals at the World Championships and first World Athletics Final. She took part in her final major championship in 2004, with a double gold medal-winning performance at the Athens Olympics, finishing as the 800 m and 1,500 m Olympic Champion. For her achievements she won numerous awards and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2005. She retired from athletics in 2005 and has since been made an honorary colonel with the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment (RACTR). She has become a global motivational speaker, published five books, her latest being Running Life, and made a number of television appearances
  • Contributor: Kelly Holmes
  • Imprint: Mirror Books
  • ISBN13: 0000060905802
  • Number of Pages: 288
  • Packaged Dimensions: 153x234mm
  • Format: Hardback
  • Publisher: Mirror Books
  • Release Date: 2023-11-09
  • Binding: Hardback
  • Biography: Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British middle distance athlete. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres and 1,500 metres events and won gold medals for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She set British records in numerous events and still holds the records over the 600, and 1,000 metre distances. She held the British 800 metre record until 2021. Inspired by a number of successful British middle-distance runners in the early 1980s, Holmes began competing in middle-distance events in her youth. She joined the British Army, but continued to compete at the organisation's athletics events. She turned to the professional athletics circuit in 1993 and in 1994 she won the 1,500 m at the Commonwealth Games and took silver at the European Championships. She won a silver and a bronze medal at the 1995 Gothenburg World Championships, but suffered from various injuries over the following years, failing to gain a medal at her first Olympics in Atlanta 1996 when running with a stress fracture. She won silver in the 1,500 m at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and bronze in the 800 m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, her first Olympic medal. Holmes won the 1,500 m at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the 800 m bronze at the Munich European Championships that year. The 2003 track season saw her take silver in the 1,500 m at the World Indoor Championships and the 800 m silver medals at the World Championships and first World Athletics Final. She took part in her final major championship in 2004, with a double gold medal-winning performance at the Athens Olympics, finishing as the 800 m and 1,500 m Olympic Champion. For her achievements she won numerous awards and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2005. She retired from athletics in 2005 and has since been made an honorary colonel with the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment (RACTR). She has become a global motivational speaker, published five books, her latest being Running Life, and made a number of television appearances

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