Keely Hodgkinson has clinched Team GB’s 12th gold medal of the Paris Olympics after winning the 800 metres on Monday evening. The 22-year-old won silver at the Tokyo Games three years ago and was the overwhelming favourite to win the 800m this year.
She raced away in the closing stages to cruise to victory as she clocked a time of 1:56.72 minutes.
The silver medal went to Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma, who ran a personal best time, with Kenya’s Mary Moraa taking the bronze.
Following the race, tributes poured in for Hodgkinson, who has been tipped to be a star of athletics for years to come.
“The silver queen has stepped up to gold and she so deserves it,” explained former women’s marathon record holder Paula Ratcliffe. “Keely Hodgkinson ran that race with the weight of expectation on her, everyone was hanging that medal around her neck, she knew that as well.
“But to execute it in that way and to block someone of the tactical level of Mary Moraa, who can really mix it up, she was just so impressive. She held it off and when the gap appeared she put her foot to the floor.
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“There is a symmetry to it. 1964 – Anne Packer, 2004 – Kelly Holmes and now Keely Hodgkinson upgrades that silver to a gold in 2024. This will be the start of a big, big voyage for her.”
Meanwhile, Dame Denise Lewis, who won the heptathlon gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, said: “Keely Hodgkinson was ready for it, she had to race smart. She didn’t shake her opponents until the very end.
“It was so tense, but she delivered, she ran the race that suited her and ended up taking it by the scruff of the neck because she knew she had to.”
London 2012 Olympic heptathlon champion Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill added: “I am literally shaking, I am blown away.
“Keely Hodgkinson is the most incredible woman, human being but athlete as well. I’m so happy for her, she absolutely deserves every moment.
“To see her coach Trevor, to see her coach Jenny, her physio Ollie Rose, all those people who have been around her from the very start nurturing her and helping her to be the best that she can be when it really matters. She has delivered, she has delivered with all that pressure.”
And former Team GB 400m runner Katharine Merry added: “Keely’s not going anywhere, she’s around for a long time. She wants to make her mark.”
The result means Great Britain are fifth in the medal table with 12 golds, 13 silvers and 17 bronzes.
