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Keely Hodgkinson knows that she will never experience the lack of pressure she enjoyed at her maiden Olympics but is embracing the favourites’ tag in Paris this summer.
The middle-distance star announced herself to the world in Tokyo three years ago, taking silver over 800m and breaking Dame Kelly Holmes’ British record while still just a teenager.
Although it was not a total shock, Hodgkinson admits that in 2024 she finds herself in a very different situation, having followed up that with two more silvers on the world stage in each of the last two summers.
She heads to Paris as part of the Team Gb athletics squad named today ranked number one in the world and now with the expectation that she can clinch a first gold at global level.
Hodgkinson said: “I feel like this is going to be my proper Olympic experience. Last time with Covid, they did an amazing job putting it on. But now, with the crowd, I think it’s going to be a proper experience, so I’m really excited.
“It really did change my life. The Olympics is something that resonates with the majority of the public, so it’s just really special to perform well there.
“It’s a different pressure this time. I was very upcoming, that position I was in, I’ll never have that again. The freedom of being there for the experience and it didn’t really matter what I did. I knew what I could do.
“Now, we’re three years later, I think I’m a better athlete than I was then but now there is that expectation. I’ve medalled every year now so it’s a case of can we do it again? Can we go one better?”
Her cause has been helped by Tokyo gold medallist and 2022 world champion Athing Mu, who is three months younger than Hodgkinson, missing out at the US Olympic trials.
Where Hodgkinson was able to skip the 800m at the UK Championships, having already clinched a place in Paris, the Americans have a cutthroat selection policy where only the top three at their trials can go to the Olympics.
So when Mu was clipped and fell at trials, her Olympic hopes evaporated. Rather than count her blessings, Hodgkinson is disappointed to miss out on the chance to take on her rival, while also admitting that suffering a similar fate is something of a preoccupation.
She said: “Unfortunately Athing is not going to be in Paris this year. I was very gutted about that. If it was me, I’d be devastated, it’s not nice to see that happen. Even though she’s not there, it’s still so hard to achieve, it’s just one less person to worry about. It’s going to be difficult but it’s the Olympic Games, anything can happen.
“With races like that, I’ve had my heels clipped a few times. It makes you wary that just because you are the best, that doesn’t mean that it can’t happen to you. It was very unfortunate, so you just have to keep your wits about you. 800 and 1500m are two of the messy races for that, people getting on top of each other, piling up, so you just have to stay out of trouble. Sometimes you can’t control it, so you just have to hope the luck is on your side. It does cross your mind sometimes, what if I fall over? But hopefully not!”
In many ways, it appears that Hodgkinson’s progress has been almost all highs, settling for the odd silver medal rather than gold, notwithstanding.
But the 22-year-old admits that the aftermath of her Olympic debut was not easy and took a while to come to terms with.
She added: “I’ve shown how mentally strong I can be. After Tokyo, the Olympic comedown is a real thing. That was quite tough, being so young and having so many aspects of my life change. I didn’t go to university anymore, I went full-time pro. I moved out, got my own place, all these changes you go through anyway.
“And then you think I’ve got to do what I did last year again, for a whole year, finding that motivation. I now know this time around that I’ll be better equipped to handle that. I also want to enjoy it, I’m back to really enjoying it again. If I get to that final and give it my all, I’ll be happy.
“After Tokyo, there was no pressure on me. The only thing I didn’t want was to be a one hit wonder, who just got it right then.
“I wanted to prove not just to myself but to everyone else that I could be a multiple medallist. Here we are, three years later, with a lot more medals so it’s good fun!”
The pressure might have changed but Hodgkinson’s potential remains sky-high. Now she has a gold medal to go and get.
Full Team GB athletics team for the Olympic Games:
Women
100m: Dina Asher-Smith, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Daryll Neita
200m: Dina Asher-Smith, Daryll Neita, Bianca Williams
400m: Amber Anning, Laviai Nielsen, Victoria Ohuruogu
800m: Phoebe Gill, Keely Hodgkinson, Jemma Reekie
1500m: Georgia Bell, Laura Muir, Revee Walcott-Nolan
10,000m: Megan Keith, Eilish McColgan
100m Hurdles: Cindy Sember
400m Hurdles: Jessie Knight, Lina Nielsen
3000m Steeplechase: Lizzie Bird, Aimee Pratt
High Jump: Morgan Lake
Pole Vault: Holly Bradshaw, Molly Caudery
Heptathlon: Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Jade O’Dowda
4x100m Relay Squad: Dina Asher-Smith, Desiree Henry, Amy Hunt, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Daryll Neita, Bianca Williams
4x400m Relay Squad: Amber Anning, Yemi Mary John, Hannah Kelly, Laviai Nielsen, Victoria Ohuruogu, Jodie Williams, Nicole Yeargin
Marathon: Charlotte Purdue, Rose Harvey, Calli Hauger-Thackery
Men
100m: Jeremiah Azu, Louie Hinchliffe, Zharnel Hughes
200m: Zharnel Hughes
400m: Charlie Dobson, Matthew Hudson-Smith
800m: Max Burgin, Ben Pattison, Jake Wightman
1500m: Neil Gourley, Josh Kerr, George Mills
5000m: Sam Atkin, Patrick Dever, George Mills
10,000m: Patrick Dever*subject to confirmation of a qualifying World Ranking position
110m Hurdles: Tade Ojora
400m Hurdles: Alastair Chalmers
Long Jump: Jacob Fincham-Dukes
Shot Put: Scott Lincoln
Discus: Lawrence Okoye, Nicholas Percy
Men’s 4x100m Relay Squad: Jeremiah Azu, Louie Hinchliffe, Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake
Men’s 4x400m Relay Squad: Charlie Carvel, Lewis Davey, Charlie Dobson, Ben Jefferies, Toby Harries, Alex Haydock-Wilson, Matthew Hudson-Smith
20km Race Walk: Callum Wilkinson
Marathon: Emile Cairess, Mahamed Mahamed, Phil Sesemann
Mixed 4x400m Relay - Men’s and Women’s 4x400m relay athletes eligible for this event
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