"You will have changed people's lives here tonight."
Those were the words of Sian Searles, co-founder of Winchester Books Festival, after Dame Kelly Holmes spent more than an hour sharing her life story at the Guildhall.
On Saturday, April 26, crowds of all ages - including a nine-year-old girl who thanks Holmes for inspiring her school class - filled the King Charles Hall to hear from the incredible athlete.
Before 2022, Holmes' story had already inspired a whole generation, having won championships and broken records while serving in the army, and footage of her winning gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics has been shared countless times.
Even after retiring from athletics in 2005, her role as National School Sports Champion and charity work has taken her into schools across the UK, with her goal to continue invigorating sport for youngsters and local communities.
But what the public didn't know was the struggle behind the scenes, and in June 2022, she came out as gay in an interview with the Sunday Mirror and a documentary with ITV.
Since then, Holmes has shed light on the experiences of LGBT servicemen and women before the year 2000, when it was illegal to be openly gay. Suspected individuals, including Holmes herself, would be 'raided', their belongings thrown across the room to find any evidence of homosexuality. For others, they were subjected to physical and even sexual abuse.
To quote Gaby Huddard, who chaired the talk, speaking about the treatment in the context of 2025 sounds very 'archaic', but the impact has been long-lasting for thousands of people who served our country.
In Winchester, Holmes shared tales from childhood, funny anecdotes of balancing athletics with army life, and, importantly, her freedom now that her truth is out in the public.
SEE MORE: Countdown's Susie Dent at Winchester Books Festival this weekend
She said: "More than 80,000 people turn up at our village, people were having BBQs in their front gardens because it was just the best day ever. This should have been the best day of my life, and it was, it was brilliant, but a dark cloud came over and I just thought 'What if someone outs me?'."
It wasn't until lockdown that Holmes realised things needed to change.
Now things are much freer. She said: "After winning, I was being glorified by the whole nation, but I wasn't happy. It is exhausting worrying about what people think.
"Now I know it does not matter about my sexuality, that is not your concern."
But, speaking about how she came out publicly, she admitted: "I did feel a responsibility to say it in the right way. There are a lot of people who come out later on.
"I needed it to come across in a thought-provoking way; it meant so much to say it in the right vein. I felt responsibility for other people, people who might be sitting in this room today."
In the Q&A session of the evening, many audience members thanked Holmes for her honesty, which they had used in their own lives.
Holmes left her mark on Winchester, with many queuing for signatures after the talk. On Sunday, she joined hundreds of youngsters at the Junior Park Run.
