Dame Kelly Holmes named President of Commonwealth Games England

DKH Legacy Trust - 19/5/09

The CGE makes the announcement on a day when Dame Kelly will address a cross-party group of MPs at the House of Commons in the afternoon.  England’s most successful female track athlete will talk there of the importance of the Commonwealth Games especially for those on a pathway to Olympic success.

Dame Kelly succeeds the Right Honourable Sir Christopher Chataway, who retires from the post he has held since 1994. During her illustrious athletics career Dame Kelly represented Team England at three Commonwealth Games, winning two gold medals and a silver.

She struck gold in the 1500m at the1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria and followed that up with silver over the same distance in Kuala Lumpur in 1998. She won her second Commonwealth Games gold at the Manchester Games in 2002.

Dame Kelly, a former Army physical training instructor, then went on to make history at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games by becoming the first British female athlete to win two gold medals at the same Games when she captured both the 800m and 1500m titles.

“I am absolutely thrilled that Commonwealth Games England have asked me to take up this role”, said Dame Kelly.  “The Commonwealth Games have a continuing and important role within performance sport.  They are unique in their own right and offer athletes the opportunity to experience a big, multi-sport event but they can also play a crucial role as a stepping stone towards Olympic success. That certainly was the case for me”.

Sir Andrew Foster, Chair of Commonwealth Games England, said: “Dame Kelly has been an outstanding athlete both for Team England and Great Britain. She is a truly inspirational and respected figure in the sporting world and will be a wonderful ambassador for Commonwealth Games England”.

Dame Kelly’s appointment to the CGE Presidency forms part of a series of exciting new developments for the organisation which is determined to provide the right performance platform for athletes competing in Delhi in 2010 and Glasgow in 2014. 

Julie Whelan, CEO of Dame Kelly’s Legacy Trust said: “We are very proud that Dame Kelly’s achievements and her continued commitment to play a role in sport has been recognised in this way by Commonwealth Games England. Her experience as an ex-elite performer will be invaluable and this clearly demonstrates the contribution that world class performers can make to sport at the highest level when they have reached the end of their competitive days”. 

You can find out more about Dame Kelly's charity the DKH Legacy Trust at www.dkhlegacytrust.org or if you are into facebook or twitter, you can follow updates there!