Keely Hodgkinson is relishing being the poster girl of the British team for the Paris Olympics as the red-hot favourite for gold.
Hodgkinson is unbeaten over 800metres this season having been the bridesmaid at the major championships with silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics and the past two World Championships.
But having earmarked herself as the form athlete and without rival Athing Mu, whose fall at the American trials denied her a spot, she is well aware she is considered the British athletics team’s banker for gold.
“If anyone sees me as the poster girl then that’s quite the achievement,” she said. “I’m privileged to be in that position. Hopefully, I can go on and do what she did and bring home the gold.”
Hodgkinson smashed her own British record for two laps of the track at her last outing at the Diamond League in London earlier this month before relocating to the British team’s pre-Olympic holding camp.
Jemma Reekie finished second to her as they blitzed the rest of the field, Reekie setting her own PB and the pair now having dreams of an Olympic one-two.
“Jemma ran really well at the weekend,” said her British teammate, “and she’s always said she wanted a medal all year. I see her being in a position to do that.
“We don’t know how the race is going to go yet but it would be great for both of us if we can come away with medals. That would be spectacular. Let’s see what happens first, both get to the final and go from there. I’m hoping this year I’ve done enough and it all comes together nicely."
Hodgkinson readily admitted she felt the pressure of being the red-hot favourite for the 800m but that she was brimming with confidence courtesy of her new British record.
While the 22-year-old is seen as the benchmark for the British athletics team, she said she expected there to be a raft of medals from what she sees as a star-studded line-up.
“We’ve some of the most talented and mentally driven athletes that we’ve seen in a long time,” she said. “There are so many medal hopes out there. There are a lot of exciting things to watch for from British athletics. It’ll be one of our best champs.”
