Keely Hodgkinson is an England track and field athlete in middle-distance running, who specializes in the 800m. She is an Olympic silver medalist, Diamond League final winner, World Championships silver medalist, and European champion.
Keely Hodgkinson was born on March 3, 2002, in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. She started in swimming and joined Leigh Harriers at the age of nine, but later devoted herself fully to running. Keely Hodgkinson first made an impression in 2012. Competing among 70 finalists at the British Schools Modern Biathlon Championships in London, she finished second in the 500m run and also swam 50m for an overall eighth place.
Keely Hodgkinson started her competitive career in 2014, winning the 1,500m gold at the Wigan Mid Lancashire League and Lancaster Mid Lancashire League. During the season, she conquered another gold in 1,500m at the Liverpool Meeting.
After a year of developing her skills, in 2016, Keely Hodgkinson returned to the track and field, focusing on 800m. She won the bronze at the Bedford England U17/U15 Championships and Gateshead English Schools’ Championships.
In 2017, Keely Hodgkinson proved to be the best young middle-distance runner in the UK. She won the 800m gold at the Bedford England U17/U15 Championships, as well as the gold in 800m and 1,500m at the Stretford U17 Meeting. IN 1,500m, she also triumphed with the gold at the Loughborough School Games.
Keely Hodgkinson made her first international breakthrough in 2018, winning the 800m gold at the Gyor European U18 Championships with 2:04.84 min. During the season she dominated the local junior events, winning the gold at the Bedford England U23/U20 Championships and the Bedford England U17/U15 Championships, but also triumphed at the Loughborough UK School Games. At the Watford BMC Grand Prix, she finished 4th but set a personal best of 2:04.26 min.
In 2019, Keely Hodgkinson made another strong international achievement and won the 800m bronze at the Boras European U20 Championships, where again improved her personal best to 2:03.40 min. She also earned the silver at the Bedford England Athletics U20 / U23 Championships and the gold at the BMC Gold Standard Race.
Keely Hodgkinson won her first national title in 2020, triumphing with the 800m gold at the Glasgow UK Indoor Championships. During the indoor season, she also won the gold at the Indoor Track & Field Vienna. In the Summer, Keely Hodgkinson also won the 800m outdoor title, winning the gold at the Manchester British Championships. She also triumphed with the silver at the Goteborg Friidrott GP and finished 5th at the 56th Palio Citta della Quercia, where again set a personal best of 2:01.73 min.
In 2021, Keely Hodgkinson recorded her biggest achievement so far, winning the 800m silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, clocking at 1:55.88 min. Earlier in the season, she became the European Indoor champion by winning the gold at the Torun European Athletics Indoor Championships. Meanwhile, she won the gold at the 60th Ostrava Golden Spike and Manchester British Championships, but also debuted in the Diamond League, finishing 5th in Doha and Eugene and 4th in Stockholm. At the end of the season, Keely Hodgkinson won her first Diamond League honor earning the silver at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme in Bruxelles and at the Diamond League Final’s Weltklasse Zurich, triumphed with the gold. Thus, she marked her most successful season and showed her great skills in middle-distance running.
In 2022, Keely Hodgkinson won the Munich European Athletics Championships title and the Birmingham XXII Commonwealth Games silver. At the Eugene World Athletics Championships, the English athlete earned the silver and dominated the Diamond League events, winning the gold in Birmingham, Eugene, and Oslo, as well as the silver in Stockholm.
Keely Hodgkinson continues dominating the 800m event worldwide and started the 2023 season by winning the gold at the Istanbul European Athletics Indoor Championships, as well as the ORLEN Copernicus Cup, Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, and Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final. During the outdoor season, she won the gold at the Paris Diamond League and the silver at the Lausanne Diamond League, before winning the national title at the Manchester UK Athletics Championships. She continued the season by winning the silver at the Budapest World Athletics Championships and the Diamond League’s final Prefontaine Classic Eugene, where she set her new personal best of 1:55.19 min.
Keely Hodgkinson photos
