British records must go insists Dame Kelly Holmes

By George Scott, Sportsbeat

DOUBLE Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes insists it's high time her domination of the British record books came to an end. 

GOLDEN DECADE: Dame Kelly Holmes first topped the podium at a major championships at the 1994 Commonwealth Games - before winning double Olympic gold ten years later (Getty Images)

The 39-year-old claimed her first Olympic medal - 800m bronze - in Sydney, before upgrading to 800m and 1500m gold four years later.

British middle-distance running has undergone a revolution in 2009, with Jenny Meadows capturing 800m bronze and Lisa Dobriskey 1500m silver in Berlin.

But Meadows and Dobriskey must knock more than a second off their personal bests to challenge Holmes' outdoor two lap and 1500m marks - which stand at 1:56.21 minutes and 3:57.90 respectively.

And Dame Kelly insists it's time the current crop of stars step up to the mantle.

"Records are there to be broken - when somebody brings home two Olympics gold medals then ask me what I think about that," said Dame Kelly.  

"It would be really bad if somebody didn't start moving up because I have held my 1500m record since 2004 and prior to that I held it since 1997.

"Currently I hold every British record from 800 to 1000m to 1500m, indoors and out, and at some stage somebody is going to break them.

"I hardly did any indoors so I'd expect them - 1:59.21 minutes for 800m and 4:02.66 for 1500m - to go next year with the calibre of athletes we have.

"I would be shocked if nobody starts to break those records, especially as we have so much depth - you'd wonder why the sport has not developed.

"Bring it on - I've done my bit and I'm not racing against them now."

Dame Kelly now mentors young up-and-coming middle-distance athletes through her On Camp with Kelly scheme - with Hannah England the star name.

But 22-year-old England missed out on a spot at the World Athletics Championships, with former European junior champion Steph Twell joining Dobriskey and trials winner Charlene Thomas.

Twell, 20, finished 12th in her heat in the Berlin capital to exit at the first opportunity and Dame Kelly has backed England to be the next big thing in British athletics. 

"Middle-distance running is so strong at the moment - it's never had such depth, the depth from seniors down to under-17's is huge," added Dame Kelly.

"But Hannah England is one who was really unfortunate not to get selected to go to Beijing and Berlin and then came second at the World Athletics Final recently - she is somebody who should be up there.

"She knows what she's up against - she's in a tough field and has got to make her mark.

"Hannah runs beautifully and has so much talent, now she's got to believe it. The thing with everyone now is whoever believes in themselves the most and whoever wants it will make it.

"Hannah needs to refocus on the belief that she's as good as, if not better than, the seniors - once she does that, I think she's going to fly."