Keely Hodgkinson, who gained gold within the girls’s 800m on the 2024 Olympic Video games in Paris, was offered with an MBE by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Fort on Tuesday
Keely Hodgkinson graciously prolonged a suggestion to offer athletics steerage to Prince William and his youngsters in the event that they ever desired it. The Group GB athlete was bestowed with an MBE by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Fort on Tuesday, a second she deemed a “actual honour.”
Given her recognition for her contributions to athletics, she did not hesitate to suggest sharing her experience with the youthful royals ought to they want to pursue an identical path. Recounting her dialog with Prince William through the ceremony, Hodgkinson advised BBC Sport: “He [Prince William] mentioned he remembered me profitable final summer time, after which my coach mentioned that his children are into athletics so I mentioned that if he wanted any suggestions he is aware of the place to go.”
The gesture underscores the 23-year-old’s kindness and humility, as she considered others even on a day devoted to celebrating her personal accomplishments. After becoming a member of Leigh Harriers at simply 9 years previous, Hodgkinson clinched quite a few county championships within the 800m, 1200m, 1500m, and cross-country occasions, all whereas balancing middle-distance working with swimming for the Howe Bridge Aces.
Nonetheless, she quickly dedicated totally to trace occasions, a call that has yielded spectacular outcomes. Quick-forward to 2025, and Hodgkinson boasts an enviable assortment of medals – gold on the European Championships, European Indoor Championships, and Diamond League 800m occasions, alongside silver medals from the 2022 Commonwealth Video games and World Championships in 2022 and 2023, studies Aberdeen Reside.
But, none of those achievements compares to the final word prize: Olympic gold. Hodgkinson claimed the medal on the 2024 Video games in Paris. Constructing on her silver medal within the 800m at Tokyo 2020, she delivered a showstopping efficiency within the French capital, crossing the end line in 1:56.72 – a hair’s breadth forward of Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma.
Publish-race, Hodgkinson mentioned: “Yeah, I used to be simply so targeted on attending to that line, and I knew I would be robust within the final 100m. I knew they’d be coming, I knew they’d be shut as a result of they’re actually proficient and nice women, so it is nice to compete with them.
“The stadium was unbelievable. The group was superior. I felt prefer it was a house champs for me, so it was simply nice to expertise it.
“So many GB flags, the group actually was unbelievable. And I noticed folks I knew on each nook, so many family and friends that had come out right here, so actually particular.”
Hodgkinson has been out of the racing scene since her triumphant Olympic victory final yr, having suffered a hamstring damage in February throughout preparations for her Keely Klassic occasion in Birmingham. But, she’s set to make a comeback on the Diamond League meet in Stockholm this June.
The ladies’s 800m race is anticipated to be a star-studded affair with all eight of the world’s top-ranked runners lining up, together with Duguma, who was narrowly defeated by Hodgkinson for the Olympic gold. Reflecting on her time away from competitors, Hodgkinson mentioned: “I really feel off form in a method, as a result of by the point I do race, will probably be 10 months.
“But it surely’s nothing we have not coped with earlier than. It will likely be a problem, the primary race will probably be a nerve-wracking one as a result of my final race I actually grew to become Olympic champion. However I am excited for it.”
