Dame Kelly Holmes is one of the most decorated British athletes of all time, but some of her biggest battles have been fought away from the track

Dame Kelly Holmes, one of Britain’s most celebrated athletes, has faced some of her toughest challenges off the track. The 54-year-old, who publicly came out as gay in 2022, served nine years in the Women’s Royal Army Corps and the Adjutant General’s Corps from 1988 to 1997.

She achieved the rank of sergeant during a time when being gay in the Armed Forces was illegal. Holmes, an avid runner since her youth, put athletics on hold to pursue her Army career, only to rediscover her passion for the sport after watching the 1992 Summer Games.

Initially, Holmes juggled her Army duties with athletics until increased funding in 1997 allowed her to dedicate herself fully to the track. Her breakthrough came with a gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, propelling her onto the global stage.

She continued to shine, bagging silver medals at the European and World Championships in 1994 and 1995 respectively. Holmes then represented Team GB at the 2000 Sydney Olympic…

Football Focus host and former England player Alex Scott has hailed the UK’s sole bid to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup tournament

England’s Lionesses will once again roar when the Women’s World Cup comes home to the UK in 2035.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced the UK was the sole bidder for the tournament in 10 years time. Now, if our bid is ratified at next year’s FIFA Congress, it will be the first football World Cup to be held in Britain since the men’s team triumphantly lifted the gleaming Jules Rimet trophy in 1966.

Thrilled by the news, Alex Scott, former Arsenal Women’s and England player and current host of Football Focus, tells The Mirror : “That is just amazing!

“If I go back to when we hosted the Olympics in 2012, that was one of our first times walking out at Wembley as a football team for Team GB. We got 87,000 people there, that was a historic moment for us, walking out.”

Excited by the opportunities the 2035 tournament will bring for a new generation of female players and for girls watching from the stands, she continues: “For people coming into stadiums, [who aspire] to be what they are cheering on; for…