Keely Hodgkinson Wins Olympic 800m Gold in Paris

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Keely Hodgkinson secures Britain's first track and field medal at the Olympics with a strategic and confident victory in the 800m final in Paris. Overcoming past silver medals, she dominates the race, showcasing growth and determination. Hodgkinson's journey from reluctant athlete to Olympic champion is a tale of perseverance and triumph, marking a significant moment in British athletics history.  #Olympics #GoldMedal #Athletics #Victory #Inspiration

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00:00Even when she knew Olympic 800 meters gold was assured, Keeley Hodgkinson's eyes kept

00:06flicking towards the giant screen in the Stade de France, checking for thieves lurking in

00:11the Paris night.

00:12This time, though, she would not be denied.

00:16As the 22-year-old from Atherton crossed the line, there was a sharp thump of the right

00:21fist, then a roar that seemed to extinguish three years of pressure and expectations.

00:27And suddenly Britain's first track and field medal of these games was hers.

00:33The first thing you feel is relief, because you worked so hard for these four days to

00:37go perfectly, she said.

00:40Then it's just the excitement after finally something that I've had in my head for three

00:44years coming together nicely.

00:47Hodgkinson could have been forgiven for having PTSD, given that she had returned from the

00:52Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and successive world championships in 2022 and 2023 with three

00:59silver medals.

01:01Instead, it fueled her to be even better.

01:05As the curve of the final bend began to straighten, three women were lurking on Hodgkinson's shoulder,

01:10desperate to leave her walking away clutching silver again.

01:14The world champion Mary Mora was one of them.

01:16The world indoor champion Saige Duguma another.

01:21And Shafika Maloney from Street Vincent was close enough to present a clear and present

01:26danger too.

01:27But it turned out that Hodgkinson was playing with them, waiting for the moment to strike

01:32for glory.

01:33With 100 meters to go, she struck with a force and intensity.

01:38That left her rivals wading through lactic acid to win in 1 minute 56.72 seconds.

01:45Duguma took silver in 1 to 57.15 while Mora claimed bronze.

01:50I had a little cheeky look up at the screen just to make sure, she added.

01:55But now I am the Olympic champion for the next four years.

02:00No one can take that away from me.

02:02I can't believe it.

02:03I feel like I have really grown in the last couple of years.

02:07The future's bright, and I am so happy I can bring it home.

02:11I have worked so hard for this over the last year, she added.

02:15You can see how much it meant to me when I crossed the line.

02:19I can't believe I have finally done it.

02:21This wasn't the way that most expected Hodgkinson to win it.

02:25The sense was that the slower the race, the more others would be brought into the reckoning.

02:30However, unbeknown to her rivals, Hodgkinson had entered the race supercharged with confidence

02:36shortly before the Games.

02:38She did the same critical workout she always does before a major final, it was significantly

02:44better than anything she had done previously.

02:48And confirmed she was in shape to run a high 1.53, and having spent the day in bed trying

02:53to save as much energy as possible, she decided on her strategy, to take the lead after 300

02:59meters, and go from there, Hodgkinson kept it steady as she went through halfway in a

03:04modest 58.3 seconds.

03:08But she began to wind it up before powering away to victory.

03:12I feel like it could have been run in any way, she admitted, I wanted to be right up

03:16at the front and for it to be probably quicker than it was at the bell, but doing a semi-final

03:22and final back-to-back is tough.

03:25Everyone was tired, she added, so I just wanted to save myself for the last 100 meters.

03:31I trusted myself, I could feel Mary pushing me on the back straight but I held my composure.

03:36I am super happy, I was going to make it hard if not but it just didn't happen that

03:41way.

03:43Probably a bit tired from yesterday.

03:46It's hard, back-to-back rounds, you can't let that bother you, you have to stay composed,

03:51the time doesn't matter, it's the medal, with this victory Hodgkinson becomes the third

03:56British woman to win Olympic 800 meters gold.

04:01Joining Anne Packer at the 1960 for Tokyo Games and Kelly Holmes in Athens in 2004 in

04:07the Pantheon, it also marks a culmination of a journey that began when Hodgkinson watched

04:12Jessica Ennis Hill win heptathlon gold at London 2012 when she was 10.

04:18At that age Hodgkinson preferred swimming to running, and while her dad would tell her

04:23she was even better on the track, her stubborn side initially resisted, but when she joined

04:29her local athletics club, she discovered she was a natural.

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