Meet Keely Hodgkinson, the British record holder who ran the sixth-fastest 800m time in history ahead of Paris Olympics

Keely Hodgkinson is an English middle-distance runner who proved her prospect as a formidable athlete by producing a world-lead victory at the London Diamond League. Following the win, she is now the sixth-fastest 800m runner in history.

Hodgkinson clocked a world lead, meet record, national record, and personal best of 1:54.61 at the London Diamond League on May 20. She trounced Jemma Greekie and Georgia Bell, who clocked 1:55.61 and 1:56.28, respectively. With this win, the athlete has become the Olympic gold favorite for the 800m.

The 22-year-old recently qualified for the Paris Olympics and is poised to represent her country for the second time on the Olympic stage, having competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. There, she won a silver in her pet event, and now she has her eyes set on the 2024 Summer Games.

Along with her Olympic establishments, she has also nabbed two golds in the 800m at the 2021 and 2023 Diamond League. Hodgkinson also enjoyed the spotlight at the 2024 European Championships, following her win in the 800m.

We will now dive into knowing more about the 22-year-old's childhood and her journey so far.

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Keely Hodgkinson's family and hometown

Keely Hodgkinson was born on March 3, 2002, to parents Dean and Rachel Hodgkinson, and grew up in Atherton, Greater Manchester. Her father ran in the London Marathon in the past.

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When did Keely Hodgkinson take up the sport?

Hodgkinson joined Leigh Harries when she was nine years old, however, she was initially into swimming. At the age of 10, she competed in both track and swimming at the British Schools Modern Biathlon Championships, where she finished second in the 500m run and eighth in the 50m swim. She was advised by her father to pursue track as her career at the age of 10.

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Keely Hodgkinson Education

Hodgkinson pursued her high school studies at Fred Longworth High School in Tyldesley and completed her college at Loughborough College. Following this, she pursued criminology at Leeds Beckett University in 2020.

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Keely Hodgkisnon's thoughts on her 2020 Tokyo Olympics run

The 22-year-old British athlete opened up about her experience after winning silver at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. She unveiled her feelings after attaining success at a very young age and how it was "overwhelming" at first but eventually got a little difficult for the athlete.

"It was a rush of adrenaline and an overwhelming feeling of joy," Hodgkinson said as quoted by Independent.co.uk. "It was really fun, but obviously when there comes a high, later on comes a low. The winter after was a little bit tough, once you have experienced something like that, everything else seems a little mundane."

She added:

"When you do it so young, it just doubles the amount of time to keep it at that level, which can be difficult. I managed to keep my performances going and and took it day by day and eventually got back to feeling like myself again.”

Keely Hodgkinson is now gearing up for her second Olympics and is poised to perform in Paris, which is scheduled from July 26 to August 11.