(800m)

The dogged determination to overcome adversity is what endures Kelly Holmes to the public.

For the former Army instructor has suffered more than her fair share of injury heartache over the years.

Now 31, Holmes has won medals at all of the major championships, but that tally would surely have been more but for a run of bad luck.

One such example came at the 1997 World Championships when Holmes was a hot favourite to win gold, but she was forced out of her opening heat of the 1500m.

But Holmes' career is not just a catalogue of misfortune. She will prefer to remember the 1995 championships in Gothenburg when she won silver in the 1500m and bronze in the 800m.

At last year's Olympics it was bronze again for Holmes as she overcame the odds to win a medal despite having had virtually no training, again due to injury.

It was a familiar tale for the Ealing athlete at the start of 2001. Injury prevented an early-season programme, but in the run-up to Edmonton, Holmes was again approaching her peak form.

A run of 1.58.85 in the 800m – the only event she is competing in at Edmonton – at Crystal Palace showed she will at the very least be competitive in what will be a high-quality field with the likes of Maria Mutola and Stephanie Graf among the medal contenders.