Hodgkinson Eyes Golden Finish To 'most Challenging Year'

Setbacks are inevitable successful sport, but nan sadistic quality of nan first awesome sucker punch of Keely Hodgkinson's profession is that it followed nan pinnacle.

Two torn hamstrings later, nan Olympic 800m champion would not alteration a thing.

After a 376-day hold to make her competitory return pursuing that crowning infinitesimal astatine Paris 2024, nan 23-year-old's explosive comeback successful August suggests she has timed her comeback to perfection.

"The past 12 months person been rather a journey," Hodgkinson told BBC Sport.

"Weirdly, though, I wouldn't alteration immoderate of it because I've learned truthful much.

"I've realised really beardown I am. I person specified a awesome squad astir maine and I've besides had clip to process everything that happened past year.

"It's been ace frustrating astatine times, erstwhile I'm moving difficult but not seeing immoderate rewards for it and your body's letting you down.

"It's sewage maine to wherever I americium now, truthful I can't kick excessively much, but it's decidedly been nan astir challenging twelvemonth truthful far."

Hodgkinson's eager targets for 2025 were initially wrecked by a near hamstring tear, sustained only 3 days earlier her indoor 800m world grounds effort astatine nan motorboat of her ain arena - nan Keely Klassic - successful February.

It besides denied her world and European indoor title bids, earlier different awesome setback - a grade-three tear of nan correct hamstring successful May - threatened her hopes of making nan World Championships.

She admitted it had been an "upsetting" 12 months erstwhile she addressed nan media earlier her return successful Silesia, conscionable 4 weeks retired from Tokyo.

Running the fastest clip of nan year successful 1 infinitesimal 54.74 seconds - a specified 0.13 seconds short of her British grounds - successful a connection comeback performance, earlier taking different commanding triumph successful Lausanne, it was arsenic if she had ne'er been away.

"I'm conscionable grateful to beryllium backmost now, because my biggest fearfulness was missing nan championships," said Hodgkinson.

"I decidedly spiralled a small bit. There was nary scheme for a play of time. It was virtually time by time - we conscionable had to play it by ear. And moreover coming backmost to running, it's like, 'OK, tin I do a convention today? Do I consciousness something?'

"I conscionable wanted to beryllium fearless [on my return]. I didn't person clip to do much races and get that confidence. I needed to conscionable spell for it."

It is successful Tokyo, nan segment of nan breakthrough Olympic metallic she achieved arsenic a teen 4 years ago, where, contempt each odds, Hodgkinson will target a first World Championship gold.

Hodgkinson, who has agelong stated her desire to decorativeness her profession arsenic 1 of her nation's top athletes, vowed she would ne'er judge 2nd again pursuing a 3rd world metallic successful arsenic galore years astatine nan erstwhile World Championships successful 2023.

The group closest to her person been important successful harnessing that ambition - done nan bully times and, much recently, nan difficult ones - not slightest husband-and-wife coaching duo Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows.

But world 800m medallist Meadows said location was a clip erstwhile they feared Hodgkinson would not beryllium ready, adding: "There was a constituent Keely astir apt thought that arsenic well."

Meadows told BBC Sport: "I thought we'd get location but she could beryllium 5th aliases sixth successful Tokyo, and she wouldn't want that.

"When you person gold, you only want golden [but] I deliberation she would person astir apt taken a badge considering nan twelvemonth she has had.

"We've had much tears than we person ever had before."

To that extent, Hodgkinson views everything which could travel arsenic a bonus.

The challenges of nan past twelvemonth person provided a consciousness of state seldom granted to Olympic champions - and which she is improbable to person felt since her astir caller sojourn to Tokyo thrust her into nan spotlight.

She has taken nan opportunity to rebuild coagulated foundations, pinch her accrued spot reflected successful individual bests successful nan gym, and says she has emerged arsenic wished arsenic ever.

Hodgkinson is expected to meet M11 Track Club training partner Georgia Hunter Bell successful nan 800m last connected 21 September, pursuing nan Olympic 1500m bronze medallist's determination to move events aft moving nan third-fastest clip this season.

"We're really hoping for immoderate large things retired there. It would beryllium astonishing for nan M11 group if we could do a one-two, and I decidedly deliberation we're tin of doing that," Hodgkinson said.

"This twelvemonth has decidedly fixed maine a consciousness of slowing down and enjoying nan process, being grateful that I tin tally and, erstwhile I can, [making sure] I'm going to bask everything, springiness it everything and astir apt kick a spot less," she joked.

"I conscionable want to bask it, because location was decidedly a play of clip that I didn't deliberation I was going to beryllium here."