Having won English Schools? 1500m titles at junior and senior level, Holmes disappeared from athletics to pursue a career in the army, joining up at the age of 18. She was inspired to return after watching athletes she had competed against in her schooldays competing at a high level in televised races, and when she returned in 1992 she wasted little time in making an impression. In 1995 she set British records at 800m and 1000m as well as adding to her medal collection with bronze in the Worlds in Gothenburg, Sweden ? the country that had witnessed her first grand prix victory two years earlier in Stockholm.

Hopes of completing the set of medals from all four majors were delayed in 1996 as she was unable to build on British record-breaking performances over 1000m and 1500m due to a stress fracture and had to settle for a brave fourth in the Olympics. The first day of the 1997 World Championships was barely minutes old when Holmes limped off the track during the 800m heats due to an Achilles injury which kept her sidelined for a lengthy period and it was therefore an achievement to take silver at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

Holmes finally added an Olympic medal in 2000 with a battling bronze in the 800m but illness in 2001 meant she was not in peak shape when the World Championships came around. After returning to form in 2002, including a 10th AAA title (indoors and out), she regained the Commonwealth 1500 title in Manchester and added a European 800 bronze before deciding not to run the 1500m. A good winter spent in South Africa training with close friend and world No.1 Maria Mutola saw Holmes in good form as she entered 2003 and she smashed the 15-year-old British indoor 800m record with 1:59.21 in Belgium and then added the 1500m mark as she took silver at the World Indoors with 4:02.66.

A calf injury during the summer meant she went into the World Championships uncertain of which event to tackle, if she would be fit enough to compete at all, so her silver behind Mutola was one of the best performances of the championships by a British athlete. Within days she was back on the track, setting a British 600m record of 85.41 in Liege. She set a championship best performance of 2:01.40 when winning the AAA Indoor 800m title by five seconds in 2004 and set a European indoor record of 2:32.96 at the Norwich Union Grand Prix, but her hopes of a medal at the World Indoor Championships literally went crashing when she fell in the final, picking herself up to finish ninth.

Personal Bests : 800 1:56.21 UKR 9 Sep 1995 2 Monaco, MON
1500 3:58.07 UKR 29 Jun 1997 1 Sheffield

Championship Record
Olympic Games 800 1996 4, 2000 3
1996 11, 2000 7
World Championships 800 1993 5sf, 1995 3, 1999 4sf, 2001 6, 2003 2 1995 2, 1997 dnf hts
European Champs 800 2002 3 1994 2, 2002 4 hts
Commonwealth Games 1500 1994 1, 1998 2, 2002 1 World Cup 1500 1994 3
European Cup 800 1996 2, 2002 4 1994 2, 1995 1, 1997 1
World Indoor Champs 1500 2003 2