Keely Hodgkinson remembers vividly the first time she watched athletics on television, sitting open-mouthed as Jessica Ennis-Hill, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah surged to gold and glory over 44 extraordinary minutes at the London 2012 Olympics. So inspiring was Ennis-Hill’s performance that a 10-year-old Hodgkinson decided to start running again, having taken a few months off to focus on swimming. And almost a decade to the day later, the brilliant 800m star is primed to lead a fresh medal rush this weekend.
At the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, they are already taking up the possibility of a new Super Saturday, with Hodgkinson and Laura Muir in the women’s 800m, Jake Wightman and Josh Kerr in the men’s 1500m, and Zharnel Hughes in the men’s 200m all with their eyes on gold.
