The Olympic champion led in the home straight in the World Athletics Championships final at Tokyo, but had to settle for the Bronze medal after being overtaken in the final metres.
Keely Hodgkinson has offered an honest verdict on her year following her bronze medal in the 800m in the World Athletics Championships. The Olympic champion was hoping to add a world title to her collection, but she missed out on the gold to Kenyan opponent Lilian Odira.
She was also beaten by Team GB teammate Georgia Hunter Bell to the silver by one one-hundredth of a second. A dip on the line made the difference between the two.
The World Championships was on-radar Hodgkinson after she made it back from a long injury lay-off in mid-August. The heats, semi-final and final were just her third, fourth and fifth races all year.
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Reflecting on the last few months, following the final race, she said The Telegraph: “It’s been a s***show. I mean an absolute s***show. I think when you look at some of the greats in all sports there’s years where they haven’t done as well, they’ve missed podiums, they’ve missed a complete year, they’ve missed the championships and somehow I’ve managed to stay on that trajectory, which I think is incredible.
“At the end of my career, I think people remember what you’ve won – not what you’ve lost- and this will just go down as part of my journey, I think, and on reflection I’ll be quite happy.”
Hodgkinson was leading in the home straight with Hunter Bell in behind. However, they were overtaken by Odira, who finished in a time of 1:54.62. Hunter Bell’s time was recorded as 1:54.90, with Hodgkinson’s at 1:54.91.
Speaking with BBC Sport after the race, Hunter Bell said: “I wanted to show what I could do in the 800 and I knew I’d have to come in fresh. I’m so happy. I knew it was going to be fast, so I was just like; ‘Don’t get dropped’.
“I’m so happy, the fastest time I’ve ever run. I knew it would be fast from seeing the girls in the field, but I was just like; ‘Don’t get dropped’ and try to hang on to get the kick in the end.”