British teenager Keely Hodgkinson won gold in the 800 meters at the European Indoor Championships

British teenager Keely Hodgkinson won gold in the 800 meters at the European Indoor Championships.

The 19-year-old Wigan athlete led for much of the race and held off Pole Joanna Jozwik to win in two minutes 3.88 seconds. This is Keely Hodgkinson’s second major senior title having won the national outdoor gold medals last year.

“I didn’t think about the pressure because I’m only 19. I still have things to learn. I kept the relaxed state that I was in during the semis”, said Keely Hodgkinson.

Behind were two world-class Polish athletes – Joanna Jozwik, fifth at the Rio Olympics, and Angelika Cichocka, a former world indoor silver medallist – yet they never looked like closing the gap as Hodgkinson came home in 2min 03.88sec. Two other Britons, Ellie Baker and Isabelle Boffey, were fourth and sixth respectively.