Inspired by the 2012 Olympics, I went searching for autobiographies by famous Olympians on my much-recommended Kindle (see my review on this site). Kelly Holmes grew up in the same part of West Kent as me and at a similar time so I was keen to learn more about her.

Unsurprisingly for an autobiography, it starts with a description of her childhood and in many ways this was one of the most interesting parts of the book. Especially so for me with the same local connections, but her childhood story is heartbreaking at times as she describes her troubled early life growing up with a mother who, despite her best efforts, struggled to support her and in the face of intolerance from her wider family.

From there, the story moves on to her early interest in athletics and success as a schoolgirl athlete before she began a good career in the Army. This part of the book contains few fascinating revelations but it is interesting enough to hold attention.

The pace then picks up again as Kelly decides to pursue a career in athletics after she watches the Barcelona Olympics on TV and she recognises athletes who she beat as a schoolgirl. Her struggles against injury problems over a number of years make surprisingly interesting reading.

Like her career, the book reaches a climax with the 2004 Athens Olympics and her double gold medal winning performance, but there is still a good quarter of a book to go from there. And I'm afraid that's when I found myself speed reading towards the end. It is vaguely interesting hearing about what happened next, but not enough so as she describes her TV appearances and charity work. All good stuff, but not interesting enough to fill a quarter of a book.

Overall, I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to understand more about the life of an athlete - just don't expect too much. She's a great athlete and, for a non-writer, it is written well enough not to grate (unlike some autobiographies). But, her childhood aside, the life of an international athlete who has spent much of her life dedicated to running faster is never going to be that interesting.