Kelly Holmes always knew she was in shape physically to go for Olympic gold in both the 800metres and 1500m - her real task was getting in the right shape mentally.

Britain's double golden girl has had so many seasons wrecked by injury that she was waiting for something to go wrong in the run-up to the Games here in Greece.

The closer Holmes got to Athens without something going wrong, the more superstitious she became, and she revealed on Sunday how she stuck to the same routine because she felt it was lucky for her.

And it paid off as she became the first Briton for 84 years to achieve the Olympic middle-distance double of 800m and 1500m golds.

"Taking on both races was going to be physically and psychologically very demanding so I sat down with the medical team and worked out the best way of me recovering," explained Holmes.

"Each morning I would get my protein drink ready, my carbohydrate drink ready and my rehydration drink ready and put them in the fridge. Then I would get my food ready which the doctor would give me when he saw me after the race.

"I suddenly thought that the first person I would see after the heats was Sally Gunnell when she interviewed me for the BBC, so I sent her a text asking her to bring me a bag of nuts. She did and so I was munching and drinking and that was good because the recovery process had started.

"I then went to the warm down track, had a massage, got on the bus back to the village, had more food and then into the ice bin. I kept to that routine because it felt so right for me to do it and I was recovering quickly which was crucial.

"After the first heat of the 800m the races were always around the same time so I stuck to the same routine. I left for the track at the same time, I kept wearing my Team GB dog tag around my neck and it became my lucky charm, kissing it.

"When I went to the warm-up track I would listen to Alicia Keys singing 'If I ain't got you' and applied the words to the gold medal I wanted. I sang it as I warmed up and it brought tears to my eyes because I was dreaming of a gold medal. When I eventually got it I kept the same routine for the 1500m.

"I cried before I left my dream to run the 800m final because it was either going to be my dream or it would all go wrong, and I cried again before the 1500m - I have been an emotional wreck."

Holmes recalled the moment she decided to take on both distances, and revealed how she had to keep the decision from her coach, Margo Jennings.

The 34-year-old from Kent explained: "The night before I left the holding camp in Cyprus I did two 400m runs on the track and smashed my PB. I thought 'wow' and that made my mind up to go for the 800m as well.

"I was waiting for that feeling to come and I knew from that one track session that I was ready and that I had to go for the 800m. I knew I would regret not having a go if something went wrong in the 1500m.

"I couldn't tell my coach because she also coaches Maria Mutola and by then we were in different camps.

"They have been together for 14 years and I was suddenly a rival to Maria and it wouldn't have been fair to Margo to split her allegiance.

"I knew I was in the fittest shape of my life but I still needed that self-belief so I started texting my old coach Dave Arnold because he knows me so well and telling him what times I was doing in the sessions and he ended up saying it was 'bloody fantastic' and that I had to go for it. That gave me the final bit of confidence I needed."

Holmes has no plans to retire from running, she wants to enjoy it now she has fulfilled her dream.

She returns to England on Monday aiming to spend time with her family and has no home of her own to go to having rented out her flat just two days ago, although there will be no shortage of offers.

Holmes will take an open-top bus ride through her home town of Tunbridge Wells on Wednesday and is guaranteed the rapturous welcome she so richly deserves.