British runner Keely Hodgkinson

Keely Hodgkinson is a middle-distance runner from England, specializing in the 800m. She has achieved notable accolades, including an Olympic gold, a victory in the Diamond League final, two silver medals at the World Championships, and four titles at the European Championships.

Born on March 3, 2002, in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, Keely Hodgkinson initially began her athletic career in swimming before joining Leigh Harriers at the age of nine, ultimately dedicating herself to running. She first gained recognition in 2012 when she competed among 70 finalists at the British Schools Modern Biathlon Championships in London, securing second place in the 500-meter run and finishing eighth overall after swimming 50m.

Keely Hodgkinson commenced her competitive journey in 2014, securing the gold medal in the 1,500m event at both the Wigan Mid Lancashire League and the Lancaster Mid Lancashire League. Throughout the season, she also achieved another gold in the 1,500m at the Liverpool Meeting.

In 2016, after a year dedicated to honing her abilities, Keely Hodgkinson made her return to track and field, concentrating on the 800m event. She achieved a bronze medal at both the Bedford England U17/U15 Championships and the Gateshead English Schools’ Championships. By 2017, Keely Hodgkinson established herself as the leading young middle-distance runner in the UK, securing the gold medal in the 800m at the Bedford England U17/U15 Championships, along with victories in both the 800m and 1,500m events at the Stretford U17 Meeting. Additionally, she claimed the gold medal in the 1,500m at the Loughborough School Games.

In 2018, Keely Hodgkinson achieved her first significant international success by securing the gold medal in the 800m event at the Gyor European U18 Championships with a time of 2:04.84 min. Throughout the season, she excelled in local junior competitions, winning gold at both the Bedford England U23/U20 Championships and the Bedford England U17/U15 Championships, in addition to her victory at the Loughborough UK School Games. Although she placed 4th at the Watford BMC Grand Prix, she recorded a personal best of 2:04.26 min.

Keely Hodgkinson achieved another significant milestone on the international stage in 2019 by securing the bronze medal in the 800m event at the Boras European U20 Championships, where she once again enhanced her personal best to a time of 2:03.40 min. Additionally, she claimed the silver medal at the Bedford England Athletics U20 / U23 Championships and the gold medal at the BMC Gold Standard Race.

.In 2020, Keely Hodgkinson secured her inaugural national title by winning the 800m gold medal at the Glasgow UK Indoor Championships. Throughout the indoor season, she also achieved gold at the Indoor Track & Field Vienna. During the summer, Hodgkinson continued her success by claiming the 800m outdoor title at the Manchester British Championships. Additionally, she earned a silver medal at the Goteborg Friidrott GP and placed fifth at the 56th Palio Citta della Quercia, where she set a personal best time of 2:01.73 min.

In 2021, Keely Hodgkinson achieved her most significant milestone to date by securing the silver medal in the 800m event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with a time of 1:55.88 min. Earlier that season, she claimed the title of European Indoor champion by winning gold at the Torun European Athletics Indoor Championships. Additionally, she earned gold medals at both the 60th Ostrava Golden Spike and the Manchester British Championships. Keely Hodgkinson also made her debut in the Diamond League, where she finished 5th in both Doha and Eugene, and 4th in Stockholm. By the end of the season, she had won her first Diamond League accolade, taking silver at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme in Bruxelles and securing gold at the Diamond League Final’s Weltklasse Zurich. Consequently, she concluded her season as one of her most successful, demonstrating her exceptional talent in middle-distance running.

In 2022, Keely Hodgkinson secured the title at the Munich European Athletics Championships and earned a silver medal at the Birmingham XXII Commonwealth Games. Additionally, at the Eugene World Athletics Championships, the English athlete achieved a silver medal and excelled in the Diamond League events, claiming gold in Birmingham, Eugene, and Oslo, along with a silver medal in Stockholm.

Keely Hodgkinson has maintained her dominance in the 800m event on a global scale, commencing the 2023 season with a gold medal at the Istanbul European Athletics Indoor Championships, followed by victories at the ORLEN Copernicus Cup, Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, and the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, where set a national indoor record of 1:57.18 min. In the outdoor season, she secured gold at the Paris Diamond League and silver at the Lausanne Diamond League, subsequently claiming the national title at the Manchester UK Athletics Championships. She concluded the season with a silver medal at the Budapest World Athletics Championships and a remarkable performance at the Diamond League final Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, where she achieved a new personal best of 1:55.19 min.

The 2024 season was remarkable for the British runner Keely Hodgkinson, winning her first Olympics title in 800m at the Paris Games, clocking 1:56.72 min, and smashed the competition. Meanwhile, during the season, she claimed her second European title at the Roma European Athletics Championships, triumphed at the Diamond League events in Eugene and later in London, where set a meeting and national record in 800m of 1:54.61 min. Following her great achievements, she was awarded with the Order of the British Empire for contribution to athletics in the 2025 New Year Honours.

Keely Hodgkinson in numbers

1x Olympics champion
1x Olympics silver medalist
2x World Championships silver medalist
2x European champion
2x European Indoor champion
1x Diamond League Final winner
7x Diamond League wins
1x Commonwealth Games silver medalist
4x National champion
Personal best: 1:54.61 min (800m)

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