Dame Kelly Holmes was at Loughborough University on Thursday (2 July) to deliver a training and education day for eight Loughborough athletes and over 20 up-and-coming young runners from across the country.
The ‘On Camp with Kelly’ mentoring initiative includes Loughborough athletes such as Charlotte Best and Dani Christmas who participated in the first ever camp in South Africa in 2004 as well as those that joined the programme as recently as last year.
On Thursday athletes undertook a series of workshops throughout the day on topics including nutrition and sports psychology before taking to the track for a training session overseen by the double Olympic champion.
“I ensure that I meet up regularly with the ‘On Camp with Kelly’ athletes to check on their progress and help them develop in their athletics careers by giving them mentoring support,” explained Dame Kelly.
“Although I am in regular contact with the athletes by phone and text it is also important for me to see them face-to-face. The girls also enjoy meeting up and training together, they all go through the same things and are an important support network for each other.”
21-year-old Loughborough student Dani Christmas has been part of the initiative since it began five years ago. The 800m runner, who is currently ranked fifth indoors in the UK, believes she is really benefitting from the programme.
“As an athlete it's beyond your wildest dreams to have a double Olympic champion as a mentor, especially one who is so dedicated to helping the next generation of athletes reach their potential,” she said.
“Kelly is an incredible person who is helping me to achieve my dreams. The thing that inspires me the most is the amount that she achieved in her career despite the adversity that she faced.”
Loughborough athletes in the ‘On Camp with Kelly’ programme who attended the session on Thursday are Charlotte Best, Dani Christmas, Jess Coulson, Laura Finucane, Jordan Kinney, Stevie Stockton, Claire Tarplee and Heather Timmins.
‘On Camp with Kelly’, supported by Aviva since 2004, is double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes’ mentoring initiative for talented young middle distance athletes. Recent research has shown that ‘On Camp with Kelly’ has had a significant impact on retaining female athletes in the sport in the late teenage years when drop out rates are traditionally high and has also led to improved performances in female middle distance running.
For more information about ‘On Camp with Kelly’ and latest news and updates go to: www.oncampwithkelly.co.uk
During her day in Loughborough Dame Kelly also visited Loughborough College to launch a new partnership with the Dame Kelly Holmes (DKH) Legacy Trust which will see the college become a base for the DKH Legacy Trust to deliver training and workshops with high profile visiting speakers, including Commonwealth, Olympic, Paralympic, and World champions, with the aim of inspiring young people to reach their potential.
