Holmes feted with further honour

Double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes has been voted European Athletics (EAA) woman athlete of 2004 in the governing body's annual poll.

The Briton, made a dame in the New Year Honours List for taking 800m and 1,500m gold, won vital votes from the public, press and EAA member federations. She is only the second British woman to land the title after- Sally Gunnell won for her world 400m hurdles win in 1993. Swedish triple jumper Christian Olsson was voted male athlete of the year. The accolade is the latest in a long list of awards that Holmes has received since her success in Athens. In addition to becoming a dame, she was also named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in December. Her gutsy victory in the 800m also earned her the International Association of Athletics Federations' award for the best women's performance in the world for 2004. And she scooped two awards at the British Athletics Writers' Association annual dinner in October.