ATHLETICS/News: Kelly Holmes revealed yesterday that the sudden death of an acquaintance, rather than injury, had helped her decide to retire from athletics, ending a career which peaked in the Athens Olympics last year when she won two gold medals.
At a former brewery in London the Kent runner, 35, announced her expected decision, but claimed it had nothing to do with her injury problems this year.
"I was fit and running," she said. "I have never run away from an injury before. Why would I start now?"
Instead it was the unexpected death of Tim O'Brien, a man she met while undergoing physiotherapy in Ireland with Gerard Hartmann.
"I went for lunch with him and talked about life in general and had a good old chat," said Holmes. "He said he didn't feel well that day after falling over while playing tennis.
"I flew back to South Africa the day afterwards and then got a message from Gerard to say that Tim had been kept in hospital and had been given four weeks to live. It just totally shook me up and started making me think about my future. I had to make sure I had other reasons for not being in athletics any more."
She was selected to run for England in the 800 and 1500 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March, the distances over which she won in Athens, but now she will not race competitively again.
"It has been a tough career with highs and lows," she said. "It Melbourne) would have put me in a position to be open to not achieving what I would have set out to do because you never know with injuries. I've already won the Commonwealth Games twice (1994 and 2002) and got a silver medal (1998) and I had no ambition to be a Commonwealth champion again.
"I have achieved everything I wanted to in my life and want to make the most of my life from now on. I never thought I was going to get two gold medals in Athens so never had any plans to quit after the Olympics.
"I was probably as shocked as everybody else and I wanted to make sure that when I ended my career it was because I wanted to end it. It wasn't the right time to finish then.
"When something like this has been part of your life for so long it is quite a strange feeling but it was quite a satisfying decision. "I actually knew in my heart and mind that it was the right choice and now I feel I can relax and be myself.
"I won't miss the early mornings and the injuries. I might miss the sense of achievement I had at the Olympics but I know I will never recapture that."
David Moorcroft, the chief executive of UK Athletics and former world record holder at 5,000m, led the tributes to Holmes. "It is a real shame that Kelly has decided she will be unable to defend her 1500m title at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next spring," he said.
"Kelly has had a very long and successful career in athletics and we will always remember those marvellous moments in Athens when she went from the status of great athlete to true legend by winning the 800m and 1500m titles."
Holmes's future plans include taking part in a reality show on ITV called Stars on Thin Ice. She is also due to launch her own fitness DVD this month and has started a website, www.doublegold.co.uk, which went live yesterday to coincide with her announcement. She will retain an active role in athletics by continuing to mentor the group of young female athletes whom she has taken on a series of On Camp with Kelly expeditions.
"I do not want to stop and just leave the girls," said Holmes. "I have become very passionate about what they're doing and want this to be the start. With the continued support I plan to work with young British athletes to nurture talent into the future."
This includes taking a group of runners to Melbourne during the Commonwealth Games so that they can experience the atmosphere of a big championships.
"I am very passionate that I can see these girls grow. I hope one will become an Olympian at London in 2012," she said. Kelly Holmes gone, but still playing her part - we shall never see her like again.
Kelly Holmes: Factfile
1970: Born April 19th, Pembury, Kent.
1993: Ran under two minutes for the first time in Oslo after only a year back in the sport having given it up as a junior and concentrated on her army career. World Championships 800 metres semi-finalist.
1994: European Cup runner-up. European Championships 1500m silver medallist. Commonwealth 1500m champion. Third World Cup final.
1995: European Cup 1500m winner. World Championships 800m bronze medallist. Silver medal in 1500m final. Set British 800m record.
1996: Second European Cup 800m title. Running with stress fracture, finished fourth in Olympic 800m and 11th over 1500m.
1997: Regained European Cup 1500m title. Set British 1500m record in Sheffield. Achilles injury saw her drop out in the heats at the World Championships. Absent for almost 12 months.
1998: Won Commonwealth 1500m silver medal, having just returned from injury.
1999: World Championships 800m semi-finalist.
2000: Won Olympic 800m bronze-medal. Seventh in 1500m final.
2001: Sixth in World Championships 800m.
2002: Fourth European Cup 800m. Regained Commonwealth 1500m title in Manchester. Won bronze in the European Championships 800m. Fourth in 1500m heat.
2003: Broke British Indoor 800m record. Second in world indoors 1500m with UK record. Second in World Championships 800m. Changed distance after calf injury prevented her racing over 1500m.
2004: European indoor 1,000m record in Norwich Union British Grand Prix.
August 23 - Won Olympic 800m gold medal in Athens.
August 28 - Won Olympic 1500m gold medal to become Britain's greatest female Olympian.
2005: April - Announced 2005 will be her last full track season. July - Pulled out of World Championships in Helsinki through injury. August - Limps home in ninth place in her final track appearance in Britain at the Sheffield Grand Prix.
December 6th - Announces her retirement from athletics.
