DOUBLE Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes has said she still gets overwhelmed when she sees footage of her victory from 2004.
The athlete, who won gold in the 800m and 1500m events at the Olympic Games in Athens, said even though she has seen the footage "a million times" she still can't believe it is her.
Yesterday (Thursday) Kelly visited the Island on a trip organised by SMP Partners. During her time in the Island she spoke to SMP staff about her achievements, held a training session with young athletes at the NSC and visited The Children's Centre. She was also the guest speaker at a fundraising dinner held in aid of the centre.
Speaking to isleofman.com reporter Tessa Hawley, Kelly said seeing the montage of her winning moments in Athens, which she played at the dinner yesterday, was a good way to reflect on her achievements.
She explained: "To everyone I play it to it is the first time they've seen it whereas I've seen it a million times but I still get quite overwhelmed by it and think 'that was me. I did that!'"
"When you think 20 years, from when I was 14, of thinking 'that's what I want to do' and 'that's what I want to be’ to actually finally getting it - it just means so much.
"Three months after winning my gold's I was still pinching myself thinking 'I'm going to wake up and be standing on the line' because I just could not believe that I had done it."
Kelly's running career started at the age of 12. Within six months she was the English Schools Champion and inspired by Seb Coe winning at the 1984 Olympics decided, at the age of 18, she too wanted to be an Olympian.
"When I became a senior athlete at the age of 22/23 it became realistic because I'd already elevated myself into world class standard level," explained Kelly.
"Every year I was winning medals and I always thought 'well maybe it's possible'. I believed I could and that's what kept me going."
It has been well documented that Kelly's Olympic dreams were hindered by seven years of persistent injury. However her determination to overcome this made her victory at the Olympic Games in 2004 all the more poignant and turned her into a sporting inspiration for many.
Kelly continued: "I suppose it made me appreciate what I'd done in Athens far more because to go through all the ups and downs that I did certainly made me realise that I can do anything in life now if I put my mind to it.
"It certainly made me realise 'why give up' when something goes wrong. It's almost like I've had this before, I've got through it before and I'll get through it again. You get that mentality but it certainly wasn't easy."
Within six months of returning from Athens Kelly was presented with 29 awards including BBC Sports Personality of the Year. In 2005 she was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire and also took the decision to retire from athletics.
Despite no longer competing Kelly said she doesn't miss it. She said: "I don't actually because I did all I wanted and I achieved. Had I not achieved I probably would have that gut feeling of 'if only I could have kept it going'.
"I'm very much a career person. I do something, I do it 100 percent, I finish and I move on. It's always going to be part of me but I'm not the athlete that I was anymore."
Also see: Dame Kelly Holmes says it is vital to get young people interested in sport
For more information on The Children's Centre click here.
