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Keely Hodgkinson discusses lessons from her loss to Mary Moraa as he aims for gold at the Paris Olympics.
Olympic and world 800m silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson is gearing up for the Paris Olympics with a resolute focus on clinching the gold.
At just 22, she has already made significant strides in her athletic career, breaking records and overcoming challenges.
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But as she prepares for the upcoming games, Hodgkinson reflects on a particularly tough race that has fueled her drive for victory.
“If you want to watch a bad race, watch Lausanne,” Hodgkinson says in an interview with the Telegraph, recalling the June competition where she found herself boxed in and then out-thought and out-paced by Kenyan Mary Moraa in the 800m.
“That was bad.”
Hodgkinson’s journey has been marked by impressive accomplishments, including a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics at the age of 19 with a personal best of 1:55.88.
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More recently, she broke her own 800m record in front of 60,000 fans at the London Stadium leg of the Diamond League, becoming the sixth-fastest woman in history.
Despite these successes, Hodgkinson admits that post-Tokyo, she faced emotional challenges.
“I was low – the Olympic comedown is real,” she confesses.
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Struggling to focus on training after leaving her criminology degree course at Leeds Beckett University, she found it difficult to balance her mental state and athletic ambitions.
“I had nothing to be sad about, yet I felt guilty for feeling down.”
The determination to win gold in Paris is what keeps Hodgkinson motivated.
“Gold is all I have in my head right now. To get the gold in Paris. For me, that was the one I was always aiming for anyway,” she says.
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Her rigorous training regime reflects this ambition.
Running approximately 35 miles each week, Hodgkinson focuses on building power and muscle strength, training more like a sprinter. Gym sessions, swimming, and cross-training have been crucial in enhancing her endurance and performance.
“I spend a lot of time on a cross-trainer,” she notes. “If I was to factor that in, my running mileage would go up.”
Preparation for a race, for Hodgkinson, resembles getting ready for a night out.
“The process starts two hours beforehand – I just enjoy it,” she explains.
Her routine includes a shower, fake tan, music, and doing her hair and make-up. “There’s nothing really to do on race day, especially if I’m racing at 10pm.”
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Visualizing different race scenarios with her coach Painter is another key aspect of her preparation.
“Let others dictate your race and that’s when silly mistakes happen; panic after getting boxed in and you can bolt too early,” she cautions.
Reflecting on the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hodgkinson recalls hitting a lactic wall with 300m to go.
“The pack was so fast through the first lap. It really made us all hurt. We’d never done it that fast before.” On that occasion, it was her main rival, Athing Mu, who set the pace with Hodgkinson finishing as runner-up.
"She wanted to make it hard,” Hodgkinson acknowledges.
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Despite the camaraderie with her fellow athletes during training camps, Hodgkinson remains competitive.
“On race day it’s game faces on,” she asserts.
For now, she relishes the challenge of pushing her limits.
“I’d be lying if I said I don’t enjoy being good at it,” she admits.
“When I was younger I used to love seeing how much pain I could put myself in, which sounds a bit crazy, but you do have to be crazy to do this event.”
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