Press Release - London Marathon - 1/25/16

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

         DAME KELLY HOLMES TO RUN 2016 VIRGIN MONEY LONDON MARATHON
 
London, January 25, 2016 -- Double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes will 
take on the challenge of 26.2 miles when she lines up at the start of the 
2016 Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday 24 April.
 
Holmes triumphed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where she won gold in 
the 800m and the 1500m. She is Britain's most successful female middle 
distance runner and still holds the British records for both 800m and 
1500m. Other achievements during her great career include Olympic bronze in 
the 800m in the 2000 Games in Sydney, two silver medals at World 
Championships and two Commonwealth Games gold medals. She was voted BBC 
Sports Personality of the Year in 2004 and was made a Dame when she retired 
from competition in 2005.
 
Now aged 45 (she will turn 46 on 19 April, five days before the marathon), 
Holmes will be running to raise money for four charities:
 
• The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, which supports athletes as they transition 
from sport and uses their skills and experience to transform the lives of 
disadvantaged young people through mentoring programmes
• Myeloma UK, as her mother is going through treatment for this plasma cell 
cancer
Two local charities in Kent:
• The Pickering Trust, which provides emotional support for people who have 
been affected by cancer 
• Hospice in the Weald, where her coach Dave Arnold passed away two years 
to the day after Holmes won the 1500m gold medal in Athens
 
"26.2 miles is a very long way for a long-time retired, middle distance 
runner," said Holmes. "I will have to completely change my mindset to train 
for such a long distance but it's a challenge that I am now up for, 
especially as for me it will all be about raising lots of money for 
charity. It's the most amazing event, the atmosphere is incredible and now 
I can't wait until Race Day."
 
Holmes joins an elite group of British Olympic track & field gold 
medallists who have gone on to run the London Marathon. These include:
 
Chris Brasher (1956 steeplechase gold)
Seb Coe (1980 and 1984 1500m gold)
Lynn Davies (1964 long jump gold)
Mo Farah (2012 5000m and 10000m gold)
Sally Gunnell (1992 400m hurdles gold)
David Hemery (1968 400m hurdles gold)
Mary Peters (1972 pentathlon gold)


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