Keely Hodgkinson takes silver AGAIN in the 800m metres at the World Athletics Championships… as Brit star vows to go one better in Paris after also taking second at the Tokyo Olympics
Keely Hodgkinson takes AGAIN silver in the 800m at the World Championships in Athletics… as the British star vows to go one step further in Paris, having also finished second at the Tokyo Olympics
- Keely Hodgkinson took silver in the 800m final in Budapest on Sunday
- She has already won silver at the World and Olympic Games in the 800 meters
- The 21-year-old has vowed to go one step further at next summer’s Olympics in Paris
What about Keely Hodgkinson and that dreaded silver medal? So close yet so far away. Again.
You could tell she was wondering the same thing as she crouched down and took a moment to catch her breath, right in front of her family.
It was a pained expression. One that stemmed in part from the exhaustion of two rounds of physical torture on her body. But one that also suggested the reality of another second-place finish began to impose itself again.
The British Olympic and World Championships silver medalist in the 800 meters continues to wait for that first global outdoor title. On a damp evening in Budapest, she could hardly have done more to change that.
“Silver again… no bronze, no gold, but still on the podium,” said Hodgkinson. “I was really looking forward to today, I was really looking forward to it and believed I was going to win.
Kenya’s Mary Moraa beat Keely Hodgkinson to take gold in the Budapest 800m final
Hodgkinson (left) has already won silver medals at both the World Championships in Athletics and the Olympics before taking second place in Budapest on Sunday
She has promised to take it one step further and reach the top step at the Paris Olympics next summer
“One of these days I will get first place. It just wasn’t meant to be today.’
It wasn’t the same woman, Athing Mu, who took her to world gold last year in Eugene by 0.08 seconds.
This time it was Kenya’s Mary Moraa – who defeated Hodgkinson at last summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham – who claimed the biggest win of her career.
As expected, the race was orchestrated by these three phenomenal two-lap racers. Mu likes to play conductor and took over the metaphorical baton to set the early tempo.
The American dictated the pace of the first lap, taking the bell ahead of Moraa and Britain’s Jemma Reekie with Hodgkinson close behind.
Mu only seemed to get stronger. That sleek running style of hers looked more powerful with every stride.
She walked with the swagger of a woman who came here with a point to prove and silence critics. Having raced just three times this season before last night’s final, the 21-year-old was a great unknown in the race.
With 300 yards to go Hodgkinson appeared to have ruined the ball. Perhaps her thoughts went back to all those years of cross-country running, plodding through the muddy fields of Wigan, looking for a final burst.
Hodgkinson was able to reel in second, but had too much going on to overtake Moraa
Somehow she found it and the trio came out of the last corner together.
But it was too late. While she was able to reel in Mu, who was fading badly, Moraa just had too much for her with 50 yards to go.
Moraa’s background as a 400m sprinter was on display for all to see as she stormed to the line. We’ve seen very few women at this event who could end up with a bang in the same way she did. She even had time to cross the line with a little jump of joy.
“To be consistently at the top, alongside the best in the world, is all I want from my career,” said Hodgkinson. ‘I gave everything. I don’t think I took a wrong step.’
Even an almost perfect performance is not enough to win this event these days.
What a spectacle this race was to watch. Three young women at the height of their abilities, who compete on this big stage.
Hodgkinson will have to go back to the drawing board as she searches for that elusive gold medal
It was a fitting piece of entertainment for the last night of these championships. Had this been on stage, the audience would have been asking for an encore.
Best of all, they should get what they want a lot more often in the next decade. This trio is all young enough to win many more championships.
Tonight it was Moraa’s turn to top the podium. It’s an astonishing rise considering the 23-year-old didn’t even make the semifinals at this Tokyo Olympics event.
For Hodgkinson, it’s back to the drawing board. She has to get better sooner or later, right?
But on this occasion she returns to Wigan without the Budapest bullion she so craved.