Double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes has no plans to retire after fulfilling her childhood dream.
The former Army sergeant became Britain’s greatest ever female Olympian when she added 1,500 metres gold to her 800 metres title in Athens last night.
However, at the age of 34, Holmes believes she is in the “shape of her life” and has no intentions of hanging up her spikes just yet.
“It has still not sunk in,” she said in a radio interview.
“I still can’t believe what I have achieved. I had a great night and am now taking just one day at a time.
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“I don’t plan to retire. I’m in the best shape of my life.
“The most important thing now is for me to enjoy my athletics.
“I have always had that burning desire to be better, and knew I could do that with one year completely free of injury, and that is what I have had.”
Holmes has been given the honour of carrying the flag for the Great Britain team during tonight’s closing ceremony in Athens.
She has been hailed as a true Olympic great after her stunning performances over both middle-distance races.
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She admitted that she has been humbled by all of the praise.
“We have had some outstanding athletes and to even be considered among their names is unbelievable,” she reflected.
“I have done it for myself. It has been a dream of mine for 20 years.
“There was something inside me that said I could achieve my dream, and that one day it would come true.
“I kept plugging away and now I have achieved it.”
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Holmes took 800 metres bronze in Sydney four years ago, and only decided to run over the shorter distance again this year just before the Games.
“Winning the 800 was a big shock,” said Holmes, who plans to set up a training camp in South Africa for some of Britain’s top junior middle-distance prospects to pass on some of her experience to the next generation.
“That (the 800m win) confirmed my fitness level was much better than I thought. I had two weeks of amazing preparation.
“I had to pretend I had not won and refocus for the 1,500. It was hard, but I had a great team behind me.
“I did not see the clock, who I was with, who was behind me, in front of me or anything. I had a plan and focused on it, and it paid off.”