Keely Hodgkinson, the golden girl of British athletics, has a difficult balance to strike
Keely Hodgkinson has found the perfect balance between her athletics career and life beyond the track, judging by her recent achievements. The Olympic 800m champion is riding high after shattering the world indoor record and claiming world indoor gold to add to her expanding medal haul earlier this year.
In the run-up to that triumph, she was seen marking her 24th birthday by World Athletics president Seb Coe, who has praised her grounded character, describing her as the most “authentic person I currently know.”
Middle-distance legend Coe, who claimed 1500m gold at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, told the UNTAPPED podcast: “I was on my way out. I’d sort of done the early shift and she turned up, and it was her birthday. I mean, she’d only just broken the indoor world record.
“She was only literally a few days away from destroying the field and winning her world indoor title and she was just out celebrating her birthday. She’s just completely normal, but she is incredibly talented.
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“I’m probably going to lose whatever fan base I’ve got left in the south of England, but she’s absolutely rooted to the north of England and that for me counts for a lot in life.”
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Hodgkinson’s commitment to her training regime means she can’t indulge in regular nights out with mates. That said, she doesn’t miss out completely on a social life.
She told The Times in 2024: “I make the most of my off-periods, so when I’m training I don’t feel like I’m missing out. I still go out with my friends, I’ll get dressed up, go for the dinner part and leave when they head off to the club.
“Every year in September, I’ll book a night out and they’ll get one night out with me. We’re going out in Manchester to [the Middle Eastern restaurant] Habbibi. Yeah, I’ll drink.”
Hodgkinson has never felt as though her career has demanded any real sacrifices. She added: “It never felt like a sacrifice because it was something I wanted to do. I never felt like I was missing out.
“My parents weren’t pushy, so I never felt I had to lie to them about where I was. I was living my best life at 15 when I was in school. There were parties every week. I’d be out all night with them, doing what typical teenagers do.”
Hodgkinson is preparing for this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and European Championships in Birmingham. Looking further ahead, she has her sights firmly set on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Having already competed at two Olympics in Tokyo and Paris, she is targeting three further Games appearances, which would see her competing well into her mid-30s.