Kelly Holmes triumphant after her 1:59.39 win - Uk Trials (© Getty Images)
Kelly Holmes, Britain’s most successful woman middle distance runner of all-time, is already making plans for after the Athens Olympics.
Holmes wants to discover her successor as the British No.1.
Holmes, the former Army fitness instructor from Kent who won the 800 metres bronze at the Sydney Olympics, is entered at 800 and 1,500m in Athens, which at 34 seems likely to be her third and final Games.
“I really wanted to give some talented junior athletes the opportunity to learn from my experiences, both good and bad,” Holmes said.
Last month, Holmes, together with senior officials from the governing body, UK Athletics, oversaw a set of tests to select eight athletes, aged between 16 and 20.
They are looking for a potential gold medallist at the 2012 Olympics.
The lucky teenagers who are picked will attend a training camp with Holmes at her regular high altitude training base in South Africa in October in a trip of a lifetime, which as well as training sessions, the use of a personal physic and masseur, will also allow the youngsters to visit Sun City and a game reserve.
“It will give them a chance to experience first-hand what it takes to become an international athlete,” Holmes said.
Since bursting on to the international scene 10 years ago, winning a European silver, Holmes has been a mainstay of the British team, as she will be again in Athens, where the silver medallist at 800m at last year’s IAAF World Championships will at least race the 1500m, the event at which she is the Commonwealth champion.
In the last three years, she has trained with one of her biggest rivals, Mozambique’s nine-time world 800m champion Maria Mutola, who will be defending her Olympic title in Athens. Holmes says she will make a late decision on whether to contest the 800m in Athens.
Steven Downes for the IAAF
