At the end of a women’s 800m final for the ages, the gap between Athing Mu and Keely Hodgkinson was 0.08 seconds. Half a stride. The width of a torso. But also the chasm between silver and gold, devastation and glory. “There have been no tears yet,” Hodgkinson said, as a small grimace fell across her face. “I’ll do that in my own time.”
The 20-year-old from Wigan had gone toe to toe all the way with the Olympic champion Mu in a race that felt like a shootout at the OK Corral. Her reward was her first world championship silver medal. But it still felt like a kick to the teeth.
