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Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond

British swimmer (born 1971)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ5106906 ↗
Source-derived summary

Christopher Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond, (born 15 October 1971), is a British life peer in the House of Lords and former swimmer. He won a total of nine gold, five silver, and one bronze medal at the Paralympic Games. Holmes represented Great Britain at four Paralympic Games between 1988 and 2000 and is the only British Paralympic swimmer to win six gold medals at a single Games.

After retiring from swimming he worked as a journalist and solicitor. He was Director of Paralympic Integration for the London Olympics and it was announced that he would be elevated to the House of Lords in August 2013, as a Conservative Party peer.

Early life and education

Holmes was born in Peterborough on 15 October 1971. His family moved to Kidderminster when he was three. He was educated at Harry Cheshire Comprehensive School, Kidderminster. He then studied Social and Political Sciences at King's College, Cambridge, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree; in 1998, as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (Oxbridge and Dublin) (MA (Cantab)) degree. In 2001, he gained a post graduate diploma in law (PGDL) at BPP Law School and in 2002 he completed the Legal Practice Course.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond” as british swimmer (born 1971). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1971, 1988, 2000, 2013—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1971-10-15, 1971-10—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. The account is most persuasive where Chris, Holmes and Baron can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as british swimmer (born 1971). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5106906. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1971, 1988, 2000 and 2013.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond primary sources, Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond archive and Chris research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.