Keely Hodgkinson
English middle-distance runner (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Keely Nicole Hodgkinson (born 3 March 2002) is an English middle-distance runner. She is the reigning Olympic champion at 800 m, having won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics. In total, she has won two Olympic medals having also won silver at the same distance in the 2020 Games. She is also a two-time European champion in the 800 m and has won two silver medals and a bronze in the same event at World Championship level. Hodgkinson is the world record holder over the 800 m indoors, the 2026 world champion indoors, and the British record holder over 800 m outdoors.
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England
At the age of 19, she won the silver medal at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics, breaking the British record set by Kelly Holmes in 1995. Hodgkinson proceeded to win silver medals at several championships; the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, as well as the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Hodgkinson became a European champion in 2022 and 2024 and a European indoor champion in 2021 and 2023. She was also the 2021 Diamond League finals 800 m champion.
At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Hodgkinson led the final from near the start, and then broke away in the last 100 metres to cross the line ahead of Tsige Duguma and Mary Moraa. Hodgkinson was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2024, and was awarded an MBE for contribution to athletics in the 2025 New Year Honours list.
Early life and background
Hodgkinson was born on 3 March 2002 in Atherton, Greater Manchester, and grew up there.[4][5] She attended Fred Longworth High School in Tyldesley, where she was friends with fellow pupil and future England footballer Ella Toone.[6][7] Hodgkinson also attended Loughborough College in Leicestershire.[8] In 2021, she began a degee in criminology at Leeds Beckett University, but later dropped out to focus on her athletics career.[9][10]
Athletics career
2011–2017: Early career
Hodgkinson joined Leigh Harriers at the age of nine and won county championships in 800 m, 1200 m, 1500 m, and cross-country races.[11] She also swam with Howe Bridge Aces Swimming Club before devoting herself fully to running.[12][13]
In 2012, aged ten, she competed at the British Schools Modern Biathlon Championships in London. Hodgkinson finished second in the 500 m run, and after the 50 m swim, she ended in eighth place overall.[12] Her father encouraged her to focus on athletics rather than swimming, and she was inspired by Jessica Ennis-Hill winning the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[14][15]
In 2013, she became the first Leigh Harrier to claim the individual U11 girls' title in both the South East Lancashire League and the Red Rose League.[16] She ran her 16th consecutive undefeated race two weeks later in the Mid-Lancashire Cross Country League at U11 level.[17] At U13 level, she became Cheshire and Manchester champion in both the 800 and 1200 m.[4] In 2014, she took her third Greater Manchester U13 title on a cross country course.[18]
At the age of 13, Hodgkinson had to limit training after a mastoidectomy to remove a tumour on her ear, which left her 95% deaf in that ear. She also suffered from knee issues.[19][20] The following year, she finished third in the U15 800 m events at both the ESAA English Schools' Championships and England Athletics Championships.[4] In 2017, she raced the 800 m in the U17 age category, and won her first gold medal at the England Championships,[4] before adding the 1500 m UK School Games title.[21]
2018–2020
In June 2018, aged 16, Hodgkinson became the England U20 800 m champion.[22] The following month, she won the gold medal at the European Athletics U18 Championships held in Győr, Hungary, breaking the championship record in the process with a time of 2:04.84.[23] In August, she won the England U17 title before setting a competition record time of 2:04.89 on way to victory at the (UK) School Games.[1][24] At the Believe Sports Awards in Wigan, she was named as the Sports Achiever of the Year.[25] In June 2019, Hodgkinson competed at the England U20 Championships, placing second, and she earned bronze at the European U20 Championships in Borås, Sweden.[26][27] During 2019, Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows began coaching her in Manchester.[28]
In February 2020, aged 17, Hodgkinson set the second-fastest female U20 performance ever in the indoor 800 m at the Vienna Indoor Classic. She set a European U20 record of 2:01.16 to triumph on her international debut at senior level, just 0.13 s off the world U20 record. She broke Kirsty Wade's long-standing British U20 record of 2:02.88 set in 1981, and Aníta Hinriksdóttir's European record for the age group set in 2015 by 0.4 seconds.[29][30] Later that month, she went on to take the national senior 800 m title at the British Indoor Championships.[31] At the end of August, she competed at the Göteborg GP in Sweden, recording a new personal best of 2:01.78.[32] The 2020 season was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the 2020 Summer Olympics postponed until the following year.[33] In September, Hodgkinson claimed the British outdoor title to become the youngest winner in the competition over 800 m since 1974.[31][34] She improved her personal best again with a time 2:01.73, when ending her season with a fifth-place finish in Rovereto, Italy, three days later.[35]
2021: Olympic silver medallist and Diamond League title
In Vienna, Hodgkinson became the first British woman to set a world U20 record since Zola Budd 36 years previously.[36] She won the 800 m for the second consecutive year with a time of 1:59.03. This marked the first time that she had completed the event in under two minutes, and also broke the world indoor U20 record. She shaved two seconds off the previous best set by Ethiopia's Meskerem Legesse in 2004.[37] Hodgkinson competed at the 2021 European Indoor Championships. She became the second youngest British winner in the competition's history (after 400 m runner Marilyn Neufville in 1970), and also the youngest ever women's 800 m European indoor champion after her success in Toruń, Poland.[38][39]
In May, Hodgkinson secured victory at the Golden Spike in Ostrava, Czechia, recording a sub-two minute mark outdoors for the first time after clocking 1:58.89. She broke by almost a second the UK junior record which had been held by Charlotte Moore. Her time was also the European junior record, beating Birte Bruhns' mark of 1:59.17 set in 1988.[40][41] At the end of June, she secured a place in the British team for the Tokyo Olympics by defending her title at the 2021 British Athletics Championships. She overcame Laura Muir and Jemma Reekie to seal victory.[42][43] A week later, she set a British U23 record by lowering her personal best to 1:57.51 when finishing fourth at the Stockholm Diamond League meet.[44]
At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Hodgkinson won the silver medal behind the USA's Athing Mu, taking almost two seconds off her personal best with a time of 1:55.88. Hodgkinson also broke Kelly Holmes' 26-year-old British record of 1:56.21 in the race,[45] as well as setting new European U20 and U23 records.[46] After the race, Hodgkinson stated that the Olympics' postponement had benefitted her, saying: "If the Olympics had been last year I wouldn't have been here, but suddenly it's given me a year to grow and compete with these girls."[47][48]
On the Diamond League circuit, Hodgkinson came second in Brussels,[49] and ended the season with victory at the Zürich final in September, winning the Diamond League 800 m title.[50][51]
Hodgkinson's early athletics career had been funded by her parents, but in 2020, she was not named by British Athletics as a recipient of £15,000 of lottery funding. Businessman Barrie Wells, who had previously helped fund 18 athletes to the 2012 London Olympics, stepped in and roughly matched the £15,000 a year that she had missed out on. This allowed Hodgkinson to attend warm-weather training in Florida.[52][53] In October 2021, British Athletics announced that Hodgkinson would receive lottery funding.[54]
2022: European champion and world silver medallist
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At the beginning of the season, Hodgkinson revealed that she was targeting medals at the World Indoor Championships in March as well as three major outdoor championships in the summer: the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and the European Championships. Hodgkinson said: "It's definitely physically possible to do all four. Mentally, we'll see. The world outdoors is No 1 and I really want to do the Commonwealths, as it is a home Games. With the Europeans we'll see how the body and mind are coping."[55]
Hodgkinson opened her athletics year on 19 February with the fastest indoor 800 m performance by a woman in 20 years with 1:57.20, at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix. It was the quickest mark since the precise day she was born, when the indoor world record was set by Jolanda Čeplak. Her time set a new British indoor record, the fastest ever mark by a teenager, and the sixth-fastest indoor mark of all time.[56][57] In March, Hodgkinson travelled to the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade. She suffered a quad injury during her warm-up for the event and was forced to withdraw.[58]
On 21 May, Hodgkinson competed at the Diamond League event in Birmingham, claiming victory in the 800 m.[59] She then had further success in the Diamond League, claiming victories in Eugene,[60] and Oslo,[61] as well as finishing runner-up behind Kenyan athlete Mary Moraa in Stockholm.[62]
In the 800 m at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Hodgkinson claimed silver after finishing 0.08 s behind Mu. Hodgkinson recorded a season's best time of 1:56.38.[63][64] Less than two weeks later, at the Commonwealth Games, she claimed another silver medal, this time finishing behind Moraa.[65] Later in August, she secured her first major senior outdoor gold, winning the 800 m at the European Championships held in Munich in a time of 1:59.04. She finished half a second clear of France's Rénelle Lamote who won silver.[66][67]
In September, she finished in fifth place at the Zürich Diamond League final.[68] Hodgkinson's time at the Birmingham indoor event earlier in the year made her the world leader for the season with a nearly 1.3-second advantage, while her result from the World Championships final ranked as the second quickest time for the year outdoors.[69][70]
2023: World silver medallist again
In January, Hodgkinson set a new world indoor record time in the less frequently run distance of 600 metres with a time of 1:23.41 in Manchester. She eclipsed Olga Kotlyarova's record set in 2004 by 0.03 s.[72][73] She then won three events on the World Indoor Tour in the 800 m category. She took victories in Toruń (meet record of 1:57.87), Liévin in France, and the Tour Final in Birmingham, where she improved her own British indoor record with 1:57.18.[74][75][76] She concluded her indoor season with a successful defence of her European 800 m title at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Istanbul. She dedicated the win to her first coach in athletics, Joe Galvin, who had died a few days earlier, saying: "This one is definitely for him and everyone at home. He had a lot of belief in little 10-year-old me."[77][78]
In the 2023 Diamond League, Hodgkinson clinched victory at the Meeting de Paris in June, breaking her British record by 0.11 s in a time of 1:55.77.[79][80] She also won the 400 m at the England U23s with a new personal best time of 52.24. The time was also a championship record, eclipsing the mark of 52.43 set by Christine Ohuruogu in 2005.[81] She then finished second to Moraa in the 800 m at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting in Switzerland.[82] Having been appointed co-captain of the British team at the European U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland, she competed in the 400 m. Hodgkinson went on to secure bronze, clocking a new personal best of 51.76.[83] She later missed the Anniversary Games Diamond League meeting in London due to illness.[84]
At the World Championships in Budapest, Hodgkinson passed Mu in the final straight, but could not overhaul Moraa at the finish, ultimately finishing second in the 800 m with a time of 1:56.34, around 0.3 s separating her from both the champion Moraa (1:56.03) and third-placed Mu (1:56.61).[85] Hodgkinson finished runner-up to Mu in the Eugene Diamond League final, and improved on her own British record with a time of 1:55.19.[86]
2024: Olympic champion
Hodgkinson opened her 2024 season on 15 May, running a 400 m personal best time of 51.61 at a meeting in Savona, Italy. She finished second behind Ireland's Sharlene Mawdsley.[87] On 25 May, she competed in her first 800 m event of the season at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting in Eugene, Oregon. Hodgkinson overtook Moraa with 150 metres remaining and claimed victory in a world-leading time for the year of 1:55.78.[88]
In June, Hodgkinson competed while suffering from illness at the European Championships in Rome. She held off Gabriela Gajanová to retain the title she had won two years previously.[89] In July, at the Diamond League meeting in London, Hodgkinson finished in first place and also set a new British 800 m record time of 1:54:61. Her time made her the sixth fastest woman in history over the distance.[90][91] Hodgkinson also triumphed at the FBK Games in Hengelo, pulling away from Prudence Sekgodiso on the final bend to secure the victory in a time of 1:57.36.[92]
At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Hodgkinson clinched the gold medal in the women's 800 m final with a time of 1:56.72. Tsige Duguma finished second in 1:57.15. Hodgkinson became the third British woman to have won Olympic gold at the distance, and the tenth British woman to win an athletics gold in the history of the games.[93][94] A large mural was then painted at Stevenson Square in Manchester to honour her achievement.[95] On 21 August, she announced she would miss the rest of the season due to injury.[96][97] At the end of the year, Hodgkinson stated her ambition to break the women's 800 m world record held by Jarmila Kratochvílová who ran 1:53.28 in 1983.[98]
2025: World Championship bronze medallist
In February, Hodgkinson intended to try and break Čeplak's 23-year-old indoor 800 m world record at the Keely Klassic, a new competition named after her, but was forced to withdraw two days prior due to a hamstring tear.[99][100] Hodgkinson took part in her first race in over a year at the Diamond League event in Silesia on 16 August. She won in a new 800 m world leading time for the year of 1:54.74, which was also her second fastest time ever.[101][102]
Hodgkinson then secured back-to-back victories in the Diamond League with another victory on 20 August in Lausanne. Her time of 1:55.69 was a meeting record.[103] In September, she won a bronze medal in the 800 metres at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo after finishing behind Lilian Odira and Georgia Hunter Bell.[104] The following month, she was the 800 m champion at the Athlos meet in New York.[105]
2026: Indoor 800 m world record and World Indoor Champion
On 14 February, she improved her own British 800 m record to 1:56.33 at the British Indoor Championships,[106] before setting a new indoor 800 m world record of 1:54.87, in Liévin, France, on 19 February 2026. The latter time was just under a second quicker than the previous record set by Čeplak on 3 March 2002, the day of Hodgkinson's birth.[107][108] The following month, she set a new personal best indoor time of 51.49 in the 400 m in an invitational race in Glasgow.[109]
On 22nd March 2026, Hodgkinson won gold in the 800 m at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships, finishing with a time of 1:55.30 (the second fastest indoor time in history) and a winning margin of 1.34 seconds from Swiss silver-medallist Audrey Werro.[110][111] Later that evening, she ran with Tess McHugh, Louisa Stoney and Dina Asher-Smith as part of the British quartet that placed fifth in the women's 4 × 400 metres relay final, with Hogkinson's split time of 50.10 s being the fastest time of the event.[112]
Personal life
Hodgkinson has a keen interest in fashion and attended London Fashion Week in 2024. Speaking about her approach to combining her athletics with her love for fashion, Hodgkinson has stated: "I get ready for a track meet as if I'm going out. It's like a stage' you're preparing to perform."[113][114]
Hodgkinson has shared how she suffered a bout of depression 'from the comedown' following her silver medal at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics. She explained that she had taken up playing the piano to help her deal with it.[115] She is a supporter of Premier League football club Manchester United, and was invited onto the pitch at Old Trafford after winning Olympic gold in 2024.[116]
Achievements
Information taken from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[1] Last updated on 18 March 2026.
Personal bests
| Event | Time | Venue | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400 metres | 51.61 | Citta di Savona, Italy | 15 May 2024 | |
| 400 metres indoor | 51.49 i | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 01 March 2026 | |
| 600 metres indoor | 1:23.41 i | Manchester, United Kingdom | 28 January 2023 | World best |
| 800 metres | 1:54.61 | London, England | 20 July 2024 | British record, fastest European this century |
| 800 metres indoor | 1:54.87 i | Liévin, France | 19 February 2026 | |
| 1500 metres | 4:30.00 | Loughborough, United Kingdom | 1 September 2017 | (age 15; also 4:29.05 in 2018 Mx[4]) |
| Junior achievements | ||||
| 800 metres | 1:55.88 | Tokyo, Japan | 3 August 2021 | AU20R, former AU23R & British record, 4th U20 woman all time[117] |
| 800 metres indoor | 1:59.03 i | Vienna, Austria | 30 January 2021 | AU20R,[note 1] 2nd U20 female mark all time[118] |
International competitions
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | European U18 Championships | Győr, Hungary | 1st | 800 m | 2:04.84 | CR[23] |
| 2019 | European U20 Championships | Borås, Sweden | 3rd | 800 m | 2:03.40 | PB[27] |
| 2021 | European Indoor Championships | Toruń, Poland | 1st | 800 m i | 2:03.88 | [38] |
| Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 2nd | 800 m | 1:55.88 | AU20R AU23R NR[45] | |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 2nd | 800 m | 1:56.38 | SB[63] |
| Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 2nd | 800 m | 1:57.40 | [65] | |
| European Championships | Munich, Germany | 1st | 800 m | 1:59.04 | [66] | |
| 2023 | European Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | 1st | 800 m i | 1:58.66 | [78] |
| European U23 Championships | Espoo, Finland | 3rd | 400 m | 51.76 | PB[83] | |
| World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 2nd | 800 m | 1:56.34 | [85] | |
| 2024 | European Championships | Rome, Italy | 1st | 800 m | 1:58.65 | [89] |
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 1st | 800 m | 1:56.72 | [93] | |
| 2025 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 3rd | 800 m | 1:54.91 | [104] |
| Athlos | New York, USA | 1st | 800 m | 1:56.53 | [105] | |
| 2026 | World Indoor Championships | Toruń, Poland | 1st | 800 m i | 1:55.30 | |
| 5th | 4 × 400 m relay i | 3:28.09 |
Circuit wins and titles
800 metres wins, other events specified in parentheses.
- Diamond League women's 800 metres champion:
2021[119]
- 2021: Zürich Weltklasse[119]
- 2022: Birmingham Diamond League,[59] Eugene Prefontaine Classic (WL),[60] Oslo Bislett Games (SB)[61]
- 2023: Paris Meeting (WL NR)[79]
- 2024: Eugene Prefontaine Classic (WL),[88] London Athletics Meet (WL, MR,[90] NR)
- 2025: Chorzów Kamila Skolimowska Memorial (WL),[101] Athletissima MR[103]
- World Athletics Continental Tour
- World Athletics Indoor Tour women's 800 metres overall winner: 2023[76]
Progression
Key: Lifetime best
| Year | 800 m indoor | Notes | World rank | 800 m | Notes | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | N/a | (age 15) | 2:06.85 | 211 – 632 – 472 | ||
| 2018 | N/a | 2:04.26 | 71 – 212 – 225 | |||
| 2019 | N/a | 2:03.40 | 31 – 92 – 167 | |||
| 2020 | 2:01.16 i | AU20iR | 12 – 13 | 2:01.73 | 1 2 – 49 | |
| 2021 | 1:59.03 i | WU20iR | 22 – 4 | 1:55.88 | AU20R AU23R NR | 22 – 2 |
| 2022 | 1:57.20 i | AU23iR[note 2] NiR | 1 | 1:56.38 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 1:57.18 i | AU23iR[note 2] NiR | 1 | 1:55.19 | AU23R NR | 2 |
| 2024 | N/a | 1:54.61 | AU23R NR | 1 | ||
| 2025 | N/a | 1:54.74 | 1* | |||
– World rank from World Athletics' Season Top Lists. 1U18 ranking, 2U20 ranking.
National championships and competitions
Track results only. Hodgkinson competed also at the ECCA English Championships (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018) with best place being fifth on a 5 km course in 2018, and at the cross country ESAA Championships (2016, 2017, 2018) with best place being second on a 3.8 km course also in 2018.[4]
Key: National championships; Other National level events
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | ESAA English Schools' Championships, U15 events | Gateshead | 3rd | 800 m | 2:13.08 |
| England Championships, U15 events | Bedford | 3rd | 800 m | 2:12.53 | |
| 2017 | ESAA English Schools' Championships, U17 events | Birmingham | 4th | 800 m | 2:08.82 |
| England Championships, U17 events | Bedford | 1st | 800 m | 2:06.85 | |
| (UK) School Games, U17 events | Loughborough | 1st | 1500 m | 4:30.00 | |
| 2018 | England Championships, U20 events | Bedford | 1st | 800 m | 2:04.41 |
| England Championships, U17 events | Bedford | 1st | 800 m | 2:09.38 | |
| (UK) School Games, U17 events | Loughborough | 1st | 800 m | 2:04.89 GR | |
| 2019 | England Championships, U20 events | Bedford | 2nd | 800 m | 2:05.77 |
| 2020 | British Indoor Championships | Glasgow | 1st | 800 m i | 2:04.37 |
| British Championships | Manchester | 1st | 800 m | 2:03.24 | |
| 2021 | British Indoor Championships | Event cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| British Championships | Manchester | 1st | 800 m | 1:59.61 | |
| 2022 | British Indoor Championships | Birmingham | 2nd | 400 m i | 52.42 PB |
| British Championships | Manchester | 5th | 400 m | 52.41 PB | |
| 2023 | British Indoor Championships | Birmingham | N/a | ||
| England Championships, U23 events | Chelmsford | 1st | 400 m | 52.24 PB CR | |
| British Championships | Manchester | 1st | 800 m | 1:58.26 SR | |
Honours and awards
- 2018
- Believe Sports Awards: Sports Achiever of the Year[25]
- British Athletics Supporters Club: BASC Young Female Athlete of the Year[120]
- 2021
- British Athletics Writers' Association: Cliff Temple Award for British Female Athlete of the Year[121]
- British Athletics Supporters Club: BASC Athlete of the Year[120]
- 2023
- Believe Star on the Walk of Fame outside Leigh Town Hall[122]
- 2024
- BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award[123]
- MBE for contribution to athletics in the King's New Year Honours[124][125]
- Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year[126]
- British Athletics Supporters Club: BASC Athlete of the Year[120]
Notes
- World indoor under-20 record until 27 February 2021.
- Although European Athletic Association recognises under-20 and U23 records outdoors, it, however, acknowledges only U20 age category in indoor competitions.
