DAME Kelly Holmes became a national heroine when she scooped two gold medals at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

But sadly, it seems, few of the girls who watched her extraordinary performance on television have followed in her speedy footsteps.

Recent research showed that by the age of 18 four out of ten girls in Britain have stopped doing any kind of sport.

Dame Kelly, 37, is determined to do something about it. Since retiring from athletics, she has become National School Sport Champion and has been working with insurance company Norwich Union to promote sport to girls and nurture young female athletes.

Here she explains why it’s important.

WHEN I discovered athletics it changed my life and gave me a dream to work towards. But it also gave me self-confidence, drive and leadership skills.

I know that sport could do that for the lives of so many young girls in Britain, if they would give it the chance.
So many stars of the future are going undiscovered because they give up on sport at a young age. And millions are missing out on the benefits of exercise.

When I took up the role of National School Sport Champion last year it was clear that there were problem areas that needed targeting.

One of the main problems lay with teenage girls, mainly between the ages of 13 and 15. Research showed that 36 per cent of girls in that age bracket were turned off sport altogether.

In the UK, we have an ever-increasing obesity rate and problems with teenage pregnancy. If we can get girls into sport it could help give them direction in life and raise their self-confidence.

Throughout the year I have been working on the Norwich Union GirlsActive scheme which has allowed me to take sporting roadshows to some of the areas of the country that need it most.

I asked the girls I met why they hated PE and was given a whole host of reasons.
They hated their PE kits, were embarrassed about showering, or felt self-conscious about taking part in sport in front of their peers. Many of them did not enjoy the sports they were offered at school or didn’t feel they were very good.

At roadshows we offered girls the chance to try such things as rock-climbing, street dance or martial arts.
If a girl finds something she enjoys doing, she is bound to be more confident.

When I was a child I tried loads of sports before I hit on athletics. I hated swimming and was too uncoordinated for ballet – but when I started running at 12, I knew I had found my niche.

After the roadshows we also asked the girls to draw up action plans in order to get more out of school sports.
In some cases girls asked for new PE kits, others asked for their changing rooms to be spruced up. Small changes can make a big difference.

Creative

I have taken everything I learned from the roadshows and now hope to make changes to the curriculum in all schools.

Schools need to be a bit more creative about the PE lessons. It is not enough any more just to offer hockey, netball and running.

I have visited schools where girls can do cheer-leading, salsa and fencing in games lessons and it is great.
PE teachers may not be trained in more alternative sports, which is why it is a good idea to involve local sports clubs or forge partnerships with leisure centres.

At the recent Women’s World Cup we saw great examples of women doing well in sport.
Getting a lot of coverage for events such as this makes a real difference because it gives girls positive role models in sport.

Getting the 2012 Olympics in London has been a huge boost. We must capitalise on the Games and use it to inspire young people.

In my new role I have had the ear of the Prime Minister. Gordon Brown is incredibly passionate about sport and very open to my suggestions.

And I jointly announced with him a cash injection of £100million into sport and an increase in the number of compulsory hours spent on PE in schools.

But it is everyone’s responsibility, from Government ministers to teachers and parents, to help girls get active and stay that way.