Dame Kelly Holmes etched her name into the record books by winning two gold medals for Great Britain at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. With the Beijing Games fast approaching, she spoke exclusively to iVillage.co.uk's Gavin Conway about who she thinks will strike gold this summer, the sporting icon that inspired her and the personal struggles she overcame on her way to sporting greatness

Can you believe it's four years since you won your two Olympic gold medals?

Kelly Holmes: It certainly seems to have flown by although I've also done so much since then. But really, it doesn't seem that long ago that I won the two golds.

With the Games nearly upon us is there a part of you that wishes you were still out there competing?

Kelly Holmes: No not at all. I certainly wouldn't want to be there performing. I'd like to be fitter than I am now but I'd have to do the training so that's not going to happen!

I will miss the camaraderie with the British team, the buzz and hype surrounding the Games and the feeling that you're there with other athletes competing at such a high level. I used to room with a 5000m runner, Jo Pavey, who is competing at these Games. We were texting each other and she was saying 'Oh it's not the same here without you in the team', so I do miss that side of it but, no I wouldn't want to be there competing.

What part of being an athlete do you never want to go back to?

Kelly Holmes: All the feelings you go through: you get so apprehensive, so nervous you're just constantly thinking 'what's the outcome going to be, am I going to achieve my ultimate aim?'

There's so much focus and discipline. It's great when you're at something like the Olympics, don't get me wrong. It's brilliant to have that feeling of going for something really big. I think if I hadn't achieved what I did I'd have a different view of things but I have nothing to prove to myself on that front anymore.

You've spoken openly in the past about depression. How important do you feel high-profile cases such as yours are in helping other sufferers cope with and understand their symptoms?

Kelly Holmes: I think generally in life, everything gets so stressful these days and people go through things and maybe they don't talk about it so much because they think there's no need to or it's private.

It's very easy to look at someone who's achieved at a high level and think it was an easy journey or they were blessed and gifted and they could do whatever they wanted to do, but actually it's not like that, you know.

Different people have different backgrounds and mine was not the easiest of backgrounds from the word go and so it's good to be able to talk about it and say: 'Actually, I'm a human being, I just happen to have the ability to do something different in life and achieve it.'

Trying to achieve it, you have to be absolutely focused, dedicated and committed. I think it's a good story to tell people that it's not an easy route and no matter who you are in life and what you go for and what your aspirations and abilities are it is a struggle and you have to learn how to get over that and come out on top.

You're now an inspirational figure to millions of people. Which athletes did you look up to and try to emulate when you were starting out?

Kelly Holmes: Seb Coe. I was at an event with him a few days ago and kept saying 'my hero!' I sounded like a right saddo! I watched him in the 1984 Olympic Games and he won the 1500m - he won it in 1980 as well but I was a bit young then so it didn't mean so much.

From the day I saw him in '84 I knew I wanted to be an Olympic champion. I think it's good to have role models to inspire you. Even if it's just a dream that you go for, along that journey you end up learning a lot about yourself.

Who would you pick out as being Britain's best medal hopes in Beijing?

Kelly Holmes: I think we've got a chance to pick up lots of medals right across the sports. One that I'm really interested in is Vicky Pendleton in the cycling. She's already World Champion from earlier this year in Manchester. She's a really great girl, very focused, and if she performs at her best she will bring back a medal.

I was speaking to Steve Redgrave and he was saying how he thinks the women's four might win gold in rowing which will be great because the guys have won it in the past. In athletics, Kelly Sotherton is looking at the gold this year, with her main rivals Carolina Kluft and Jessica Ennis not competing.

Phillips Odowu in triple jump is world number one at the moment. As long as he keeps his head, goes there and just treats it like another meeting, he'll do very well.

He's always shown so much promise over the years but not always delivered on the big stage. I know from experience how you can end up trying too hard at major championships and with a technical event like triple jump that can be a problem. But hopefully he'll keep cool!

There's been a lot of talk about Beijing - the pollution, the demonstrations that marred the torch relay. Are you confident all that will be forgotten once the Games are underway?

Kelly Holmes: I think so. Whenever any country is highlighted there's always something that will create a story in the media. From an athlete's point of view, no one chooses where the Games go. You get told where it is, you dedicate your life to it. All your focus, commitment and determination is directed at that one goal and so you're just concentrating on the Games.

Any of the negative stuff is really about people politically sorting that out an earlier time and not letting it overshadow the Games. I hope from a Games point of view and sport's point of view that it is a really fantastic event. There's always going to be something negative that comes up but hopefully we'll be able to concentrate on the big performances.

Aside from athletics are there any events you're particularly looking forward to?

Kelly Holmes: Definitely the cycling events. I know a young girl called Shanaze Reade, she's a BMX rider - BMX is a show event this year - and she's such a brilliant, confident girl.

She really made me laugh recently when she came up to me all excited saying 'Oh Kelly, you're my hero', and then she said 'but I'm going to win three gold medals in 2012!' I just thought 'great, go for it!' She's got such a great future.

How important is it that Britain continues to produce world-class athletes to inspire generations to come?

Kelly Holmes: It's so important. Young people need to see it and think it's achievable. Sometimes things seem so far away but when you're genuinely inspired by something it can seem so much more real so it's important that we continue to have those inspirational figures.

You've spoken passionately about how important it is to stay drug-free as an athlete. Do you think that message is finally getting across after a few unwanted headlines?

Kelly Holmes: Of course. There's always going to be high-profile cases that come up and, actually, when something positive comes out of that, it sets a big precedent.

I'm sure now that people right across the world are looking and thinking about what it is we need to do to make sure the positives in sport are talked about and not just the negatives. You can only do that when you take a strong stance on things and I think that's what's started to happen.

Dame Kelly Holmes is promoting the Kellogg's Wake Up to Breakfast campaign, helping people perform at their very best, whether on the playing field, at school or at work.