Keely Hodgkinson
I am running out of values to describe Keely Hodgkinson. As a British writer, I have had the privilege of following his career in detail. I first remember seeing him at the GB Champs, indoor and outdoor in 2020. I have watched him in two Olympics, two World Championships, two European Championships, Commonwealth Games, several GB Championships and diamond leagues. I sat next to him at dinner at an event. I’ve talked to him in mixed lanes, pressing and 1-2-1. He has achieved so much that it is hard to believe that he is only 24 years old. From that stunning Olympic silver in Tokyo 2021, to the pending Olympic gold in Paris 2024, to the indoor world record, her achievements continue to grow.
She can combine elite athlete status with a girl-next-door persona. He is a serious athlete without taking himself too seriously. Athletics is a sport in the UK that is struggling for public attention. Soccer dominates in terms of television coverage and newspaper articles. Outside of the major leagues only London Diamond League is shown live on the main TV channel. Kelly is probably the only current female athlete, possibly Dina, who would be known to the general public.
Winning the Olympic 800 in Paris in 2024 established Keel at the top of his profession. He was ready to strike. A winter injury meant he competed in the 2025 Tokyo World Championships with just 2 races in 2025. He ran 1:54.90, but was only third. Undoubtedly, a lack of race intensity cost him the 0.3 seconds he needed to win. In 2025, he also had his event, Keely Classic, but due to an injury, he had to leave the field. Instead, he signed 1,000 autographs and posed for 1,000 selfies.
A tough winter set him up for a big 2026. He opened with a time of 1:56.33 in the GB Champs prelims. (He did not participate in the finals as the selection criteria only required him to demonstrate his fitness. I think it was a short selection meeting. “Keely is in shape. Well, he ran 1:56. All those who are in favor”) “It was a personal challenge for me today. I had to come to worlds to qualify, and for that I was only doing one round. But it was a good test. I had been running indoors for three years, so I knew I had to get out there and stay focused. I wasn’t going to run that fast, but I knew I wanted to run the 400, but we wanted to run first. started well and kept going. It was a pleasant surprise, a really strong day.”
He then raced in Lieven’s indoor meet to win in 1:54.87, setting a new world record. Then he said: “Being a world record holder, I knew I was capable. Coming here, it was more about how fast can I go. I’m pretty happy, but I think there’s more to give. 1:54 inside, it’s the fourth time I’ve run under 1:55, so it’s unbelievable that I wanted to break the record. It was great waiting a long time for the race and it’s going to be a long night because I won’t sleep, but it was worth it.
Watch the World Record at: (3) World Athletics on X; “KEELY’S WORLD RECORD RUN 🤩 The 800m indoor world record is finally hers 🙏 ⏱️ 1:54.87 #WorldIndoorTour
KILLY’S WORLD RECORD BEHAVIOR 🤩
The 800m indoor world record is finally hers
⏱️ 1:54.87#WorldIndoorTour pic.twitter.com/l9mIjCaFVi
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) February 19, 2026
At the 2026 World Indoors in Torun, he ran times of 2:00.32 and 1:58.53 to qualify for the final. In the final, he won with a score of 1:55.30. And since he had no other plans for the evening, he ran the final leg of the 4X400 relay for GB an hour later, commenting: “It’s very nice that I was able to run and win. This is my first world title. I’ve been to so many finals, I’ve been the favorite so many times, and I haven’t won, so I can do this and prove that I’m pulling gold. ran a 50 second relay and I’m really impressed with myself, I really wanted to do it.
It’s scary to think that it’s still March and Keeley has a full summer ahead of him. European champion. Champion of the Commonwealth. An outdoor world record? Who knows?
I did 4 video interviews with Kiley and one with coach Trevor. Below are the links for you to download if you are interested. Using video goes some way to establishing my credibility.
The first video is from Zurich DL 2021, featuring Kelly Hodgkinson.
Keely Hodgkinson from Zurich DL 2021, interviewed by Stuart Weir. Keely has evolved over the past five years. Kelly is now an Olympic champion, a world champion, a world indoor champion and a world indoor record holder. Stuart Weir is RunBlogRun’s Senior Writer for Europe and… pic.twitter.com/LiPd5xFWgo
— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) March 30, 2026
Here is a link to Stuart Weir’s four interview videos with Keely Hodgkinson:
The second is with coach Trevor Pinter.
Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter-Bell’s coach Trevor Painter was interviewed by RunBlogRun Europe/UK Senior Writer Stuart Weir. Trevor talked about training and preparations for the 2023-2024 season. Very interesting interview. @Faster_feet, @BritAthletics,… pic.twitter.com/Y4g4vQybNX
— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) March 30, 2026
Here’s Stewart Weir’s interview with Trevor Painter if you’d like to download: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/6le348v3w1qsgzee58tp6/Trevor-Painter-2023.MOV?rlkey=7xznsbkk2vgxz8n3apqewxc94&st=wcku6uxf&dl=0
