Keely Hodgkinson entered the European Indoor Championships fully aware of her status as the undisputed favourite, so far ahead of the rest of the field that probably only a mistake could have toppled her. The pressure that comes with excellence did not faze her at all. On Sunday she comfortably defended her title and further underlined her dominance over the continent.
Having marked her arrival at the top of the sport two years ago by winning her first European indoor gold medal at 19, Hodgkinson is only the second woman to defend an 800m European indoor title.
Moments later Jazmin Sawyers, Great Britain’s team captain in Istanbul, produced the performance of her life in the women’s long jump, shocking the field by surpassing seven metres for the first time in her career and becoming champion.
“I’ve never won anything,” an exuberant Sawyers told the BBC. “I’m still in shock. I feel like the seven-metre jump has been in me for so long. I have been waiting for this seven metres to come out for ever. It’s been so many years that, for a bit, you start to go: ‘Is it gonna come?’”
Sitting in fourth place, Sawyers produced a spectacular fifth round of exactly 7.00m, obliterating her personal best of 6.90 and securing the world‑leading jump so far in 2023. The 28-year-old has been around for a long time and she has been made to wait for her moment, and she cited an adjustment in her technique as a reason for her success.
It was a victory made even more meaningful by the quality of opposition in one of the most stacked fields of the entire event. Sawyers saw off Germany’s Malaika Mihambo, the Olympic and world champion, and Serbia’s Ivana Vuleta, the world indoor champion.
“Seven metres is a real jump,” Sawyers said. “It’s not one of them where people are going to turn around and go: ‘Ah, yeah, but everyone was jumping badly today.’ No, seven metres is a legitimate jump. That’s what won the Olympics. That gives me so much confidence going forwards, that in those high-pressure situations I can bring out my absolute best. I just want more of it.”
For Hodgkinson, the most important challenge was remaining clear of any physical contact with her rivals. She immediately swept to the front and by the third lap she had completely detached herself from the field as she finished with a time of 1:58.66.
The level at which Hodgkinson has consistently performed since her breakthrough two years ago has been spectacular. After silver medals at the Olympics and the world championships, and a supreme start to this season, her next target is clear. She will try to topple her great rival Athing Mu in the coming outdoor season and world championships.
After her victory, an emotional Hodgkinson dedicated the win to a former coach, Joe Galvin, who died unexpectedly this week. “He had a lot of belief in 10-year-old me, so that medal is for him and everyone at home.”
