Kelly competed in various disciplines during her decade-long international career, most prominently in heptathlon and the 4x400m relay, but also in the long jump and pentathlon.

She won bronze at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the heptathlon and bronzes in both the heptathlon and the 4x400m for Beijing 2008. Also during her sporting career, Kelly became a double world medallist, Commonwealth Games champion, and triple European silver medallist.

Outside of competition she founded British Athletics’ Athletes’ Commission, where she remains an advisor; acted as Team England’s Athletics Team Leader at the 2022 Commonwealth Games; coached in cricket, rugby, and track and field; and held the role of Talent Coach Development Manager at Sport England.

Kelly will commence her employment in December 2024.

Sarah is an experienced operational lead and joined the BEAA having led operations for the charity Safe Passage. Her previous operational roles include nine years at the Rugby Football Union as well as supporting the Football Association.

Sarah is qualified in safer recruitment, GDPR, and understanding equality and diversity.

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Sporting hero: Jonny Wilkinson

She was seconded to the BEAA from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children to lead the support team set up to offer end-to-end case management for children, families and elite athletes affected by allegations of mistreatment in gymnastics.

Elaine held a team manager role at the NSPCC from 2019, and before that gained considerable experience in social worker and senior social worker roles in both England and Northern Ireland.

As part of her role at the BEAA, she works alongside both athletes and sports to ensure that safeguarding processes are understood and correctly implemented. She was awarded an MBE in 2024 for services to young people and safeguarding in sport.

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Sporting hero: Simone Biles

As well as being an Athlete Support Manager, she leads on equality, diversity and inclusion within the organisation, ensuring that the BEAA is constantly progressing in this field.

Before this, Emma worked as a helpline practitioner for the NSPCC, following a role as a Senior Safeguarding Children and Families Officer at a secondary school in Leeds.

Based in Belfast, Emma is passionate about sport, having played international football for Northern Ireland at youth level and completed a degree in sports studies at Leeds Beckett University. ‍

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Sporting hero: Jessica Ennis-Hill

Based in Glasgow, Fiona is passionate about sport, having recently retired after almost a decade in international hockey.

She completed a law degree at the University of Glasgow, along with a sport and physical activity degree from the University of Strathclyde, and an MSc in performance coaching from the University of Stirling.

Fiona is currently on maternity leave, due to return in 2025. Athletes seeking her support should reach out to the wider team and another Athlete Support Manager will be in touch.

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Sporting hero: Laura Muir

Before joining the BEAA she was an athlete with the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association, having represented Great Britain in the Europa Cup and won bronze on just her sixth start. Before joining her World Class Programme, Milly earned a degree in Child and Youth Studies, trained as a teacher and taught primary school children alongside training.  

She came to the BBSA’s attention as part of UK Sport’s Discover Your Gold talent identification, having previously been a keen 100m sprinter.  

Milly’s role involves supporting athletes on a one-to-one basis, as well as working to bring the athlete community together as a whole.

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Sporting hero: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

Jenny previously managed the Athlete Services Team for the British Olympic Association over nine years. Her experience focused on the athlete preparation and support programme, engagement strategies, team culture and post-retirement support for Olympians. She led athlete support programmes at each Olympic Games since Sochi 2014 and was part of the leadership team for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.  

Jenny’s career started in developing university sport, before working in sports development for the London Borough of Brent, focused on clubs and coaching. She went on to be part the Education Team for UK Anti-Doping, which included a secondment to the World Anti-Doping Agency for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

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Sporting hero: Eve Muirhead

With a background in football, Ben began his career as a freelance writer with brands like SPORTbible and Paddy Power, and today still writes for FourFourTwo.

He moved to the BEAA from Premier League club Crystal Palace, where he worked for four years, overseeing their website, app and matchday programme output.

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Sporting hero: Gordon Banks