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The glitzy event, held at The Savoy hotel in central London last Wednesday, marked exactly 20 years since Kelly, who’s now a TV presenter, author and motivational speaker, won her second gold medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
When Kelly won her second gold medal of the 2004 Games, she became only the third woman in history to clinch the 800m and 1500m double, and the first British competitor in more than 80 years to take home two gold medals from the same Games. But, despite the accolades and fame, we now know that in the build-up to that career high she was battling with poor mental health and self-harming and, of course, as she continued to do for the next few decades, hiding her sexuality.
But theKelly of today – who steals tonight’s award for best-dressed in her metallic gold dress that fits with the party’s black, white and gold theme – not only looks like a different person to the one who collapsed in tears on the 1500m finish line, she feels like one.
The guestlist for her Victory Revisited bash includes everyone Kelly holds dear and, of course, she’s being accompanied by her massage therapist partner Louise Cullen, who she met during the pandemic. As well as fellow athletic legends like Denise Lewis and Tessa Sanderson (Sally Gunnell is on holiday and will be missed, she says), there’s also her Loose Women colleague Linda Robson and other celeb friends such as designer Kelly Hoppen and TV host Jenni Falconer. While some of the friendships go back decades – especially with the likes of Olympic heptathlete Denise, 52, and Olympic javelin champion Tessa, 68, – the occasion means all the more to Kelly now, she says, because she’s able to be around them as her true, authentic self with Louise by her side.
