How Hodgkinson won gold in the 800m at the Olympics

Never again.

These were the words Keely Hodgkinson vowed to herself as she left the track in Budapest 12 months ago.

To many, securing three global silver medals by the age of 21 would be seen as a tremendous achievement. However, Hodgkinson’s initial reaction to her second-place finish at last year’s World Championships highlighted her lofty ambitions.

Determined to cement her place as one of Britain’s greatest athletes, Hodgkinson’s evolving response to each silver medal has been revealing. In 2021, she was astonished, hands on her head, after winning silver at the Tokyo Olympics—a chance that arose due to the Games’ postponement because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yet, she was “gutted” by her world silver the following year, and her frustration was palpable after narrowly missing out against Tokyo Olympic champion Athing Mu and the current world champion Mary Moraa last year.

At the age of 22 in Paris, Hodgkinson finally achieved the moment she had envisioned through years of intense training. As she approached the finish line, she glanced at the big screen to ensure no one was closing in, then threw her arm in a triumphant gesture. Crossing the line, she covered her mouth in a mix of pure joy and profound relief.

“I have really grown over the last couple of years and this year was the year where you could really tell that I had tried to make that step up,” Hodgkinson said.

“The future is bright. I’m super happy to bring it home for everyone. It’s not just me; it’s a whole team effort, and they know who they are. This is our gold medal.”

Hodgkinson was an enthusiastic swimmer as a child until, she says, her dad tempted her into running with a new pair of shoes.

Inspired by Jessica Ennis-Hill’s heptathlon gold at London 2012 when she was just 10, Hodgkinson has become the first British woman to win athletics gold since that iconic moment.

At 13, she underwent surgery to remove a non-cancerous tumor from the left side of her head, which was dangerously close to her spine. The operation disrupted her training in 2015, affected her balance, and left her temporarily unable to walk and deaf in that ear.

Despite these setbacks, Hodgkinson’s talent shone through, and she likely would not have reached Tokyo had the Games not been postponed. She has since shared that the period following her remarkable Olympic debut was challenging, and she struggled with post-Olympics depression.

As a teenager thrust into the spotlight as the new face of British athletics, Hodgkinson has talked about having to “grow up quickly.” Yet, with the support of her Manchester-based team led by coaches Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows—herself a two-time world medallist—Hodgkinson has navigated these obstacles and established herself as one of the sport’s leading stars.

“Keely Hodgkinson, the silver queen, has stepped up to gold and she so deserves it,” Paula Radcliffe said on BBC TV.

“She ran that race with the weight of expectation on her; everyone was anticipating that medal. Now that she has turned silver into gold, I believe it will open the floodgates.”