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Kelly Holmes, 52, British Olympic athletics champion, comes out as gay after ‘years of heartache’
- Dame Kelly, a former army officer who won two golds in Athens in 2004, told a newspaper she had known she was gay since she was 17
- She said she hid her sexuality for fear of repercussions as UK did not allow gay, lesbian, bisexual people to serve in military until 2000, after she had left
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Britain’s double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes has revealed she is gay, saying she was nervous and excited about coming out in a move that could have saved her years of heartache.
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The 52-year-old, who won gold in the 800 and 1,500 metres at the 2004 Games in Athens, said on Saturday she had known she was gay since she was 17.
“I needed to do this now, for me. It was my decision. I’m nervous about saying it. I feel like I’m going to explode with excitement,” Holmes told the Sunday Mirror newspaper.
“Sometimes I cry with relief. The moment this (interview) comes out, I’m essentially getting rid of that fear.”
Holmes, a former army officer who left in 1997 to concentrate on athletics, said she had hidden her sexuality for fear of repercussions, because Britain did not allow gay, lesbian and bisexual people to serve in the military until 2000.
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