Hodgkinson Eyes Home European Gold: "Means As Much As Olympic Gold!"
Hodgkinson Eyes Home European Gold: "Means As Much As Olympic Gold!"
Keely Hodgkinson is fired up for the European 800m in Birmingham! She's chasing gold against top rivals, declaring a home win would be as special as Olympic glory. Don't miss this thrilling showdown!
British track star Keely Hodgkinson is set to ignite the European 800m championships in Birmingham, declaring that winning a gold medal on home soil would be "incredibly special" and mean "just as much to me as winning [Olympic gold] in Paris." After what she described as a "tricky" outdoor season, Hodgkinson is determined to prove she's still at the top of her game, ready to face off against world-class rivals.
Hodgkinson recently returned to winning ways, triumphing over Broeders-Bol at the London Diamond League last month. Since then, she's been fine-tuning her preparations in Portugal. A medal of any color at this event would mark her 12th on the international stage in just six seasons, with a gold medal representing her fifth European title overall since her first in 2021. "Winning is very important to me this year because it'd be my fifth European title indoors and out, and that is five years of work," Hodgkinson stated, emphasizing the difficulty of maintaining such consistency.
The competition promises to be fierce, with Switzerland's Audrey Werro and Femke Broeders-Bol among the top contenders. Werro, with a personal best of 1 minute 53.80 seconds set in June, holds a faster time than Hodgkinson's 1:54.33. Broeders-Bol also clocked a competitive 1:55.60 in Paris. While Werro recently secured her first senior international medal with a world indoor silver behind Hodgkinson in March, Hodgkinson's superior championship experience could be a deciding factor.
Despite the strong field, Hodgkinson remains focused and confident. Discussing strategy with coaches Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, she commented, "Ultimately I'll just focus on what I can do best and control my race. I don't know what anyone else is going to do, but I think it is going to be the race of the championship. It's going to be really fun."
