Keely Hodgkinson reveals the key secret behind long-awaited European gold medal in Munich
22.08.2022 - 18:39
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Keely Hodgkinson believes keeping things simple and trusting her instinct fired her to a long-awaited major championship gold.
The Olympic silver medallist won the European 800m title on Saturday night after breezing to victory ahead of Renelle Lamote and Anna Wielgosz in Munich.
Hodgkinson, 20, followed up her breakthrough Tokyo medal with silvers at this summer’s World Championships and Commonwealth Games after being beaten by Athing Mu in Eugene and then stunned by Mary Moraa in Birmingham.
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But she finally climbed to the top of the podium to lay those demons to rest as a polished and assured performance completed a comfortable victory by almost half a second.
The Atherton star, who finished ahead of teammates Jemma Reekie and Alex Bell in fifth and sixth, said: “The last thing my coach said to me was: ‘you always know what to do.’
“You can plan it out but it changes so much in the 800m, you’ve got to be able to make decisions on the spot.
“I think that comes from when I was younger.
“I refused to walk away today without gold so I’m happy.
“I was disappointed with the Commonwealth Games mentally, but I’ve got two silvers and a gold.
“That was nice – and special as well my as parents are here, so I’m just happy to be at the top of the podium.
“The last two years I’ve been performing and winning medals, but there’s still a long way to go.”
Hodgkinson is one of the undisputed stars of British athletics and is surely destined for a dizzying future on the sport’s big stage.
She catapulted herself into the spotlight with that breathtaking Olympic silver last summer just five months after being crowned