Not by the Playbook - This is the real Kelly

Dame Kelly Holmes was the first British woman to become a double Olympic champion winning the 800 and 1500 metres at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Despite the jubilation, it was not a moment of happiness but a period of fear. A fear that she might be outed as being gay.

Revealed publicly just two years ago this month, Dame Kelly tells Caroline Barker about her renewed joy in life after coming out as gay. She explains the terror of hiding her sexuality in the British Army, where being gay was illegal until 2000 and how her story has inspired others to reach out to her. Kelly also talks about how being able to be herself has given her the confidence to do pantomime and what she wants to do next to help others.

With the Paris Olympics the first Games with equal men and women participation in sailing, World Sailing is bidding to increase female representation in the sport at all levels with a new report. Who better to explain the development of that than trailblazing Olympic gold medallist Jo Aleh, who will go to her fourth Olympic Games this summer? She'll tell us about the powerful women in the sport, her experience of gender equality in coaching and her journey to Paris.

Award winning journalist Joe Posnanski tells us why we should love baseball and divulges his equation for what he thinks makes a great sporting moment. He also shares a few of his favourite moments from the sport’s history picked from his new book “Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments”.

We’ll also find out how the iconic Champions League final music was made ahead of the biggest club game in football.

PHOTO: Kelly Holmes during The British Diversity Awards 2024 at Grosvenor House on March 20, 2024 in London, England. (Credit: Getty Images)

Published on Saturday, 1st June 2024.

Available Podcasts from Not by the Playbook

Subscribe to Not by the Playbook

We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the Not by the Playbook webpage.