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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Sean Ingle in Tokyo

‘A better version of me’ – Hodgkinson eyes world gold after return from injury hell

Keely Hodgkinson before the Diamond League 800m  in Chorzow last month.
Keely Hodgkinson says she now knows how to deal with the weight of expectation. Photograph: Maja Hitij/Getty Images

There was a moment in the summer when Keely Hodgkinson feared her season was in tatters. She had injured her hamstring yet again during an eight-hour round trip to Windsor Castle to collect her MBE. There were tears and mood swings. Emotional ups and downs. She was the Olympic 800m champion. Britain’s golden girl. And it looked as if 2025 was a write off.

“I think I was a bit fiery at that time,” says a laughing Hodgkinson, with an honesty that is every bit as blistering as her running. “I put my heart and soul into this. I’ve spent all my life doing it. For that to be taken away was definitely quite challenging.”

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