SOCIAL media has been flooded with support for one of Britain’s most celebrated Olympic champions, Kelly Holmes, who announced that she is gay today, saying she “needed to do this now.”

Speaking during Pride month, the two-time Olympic gold medal winner said she realised she was gay at the age of 17 after kissing a fellow female soldier, and that her family and friends have known since 1997.

She told the Sunday Mirror: “I needed to do this now, for me. It was my decision. I’m nervous about saying it. I feel like I’m going to explode with excitement. Sometimes I cry with relief. The moment this comes out, I’m essentially getting rid of that fear.”