Welsh 400m runner Charlotte Henrich, 19, admitted she deleted Instagram before her heat against Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson at the UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham on June 20-21. The strategy paid off: Henrich beat Hodgkinson in the heat and went on to win bronze in the final.
Henrich's Unconventional Preparation
Henrich, a teenager from Wales, faced Hodgkinson—the face of British athletics after winning 800m gold at Paris 2024 and silver in Tokyo—in the 400m discipline. Hodgkinson, also world indoor champion this year, was using the 400m to hone speed for her outdoor 800m world record bid.
To avoid pre-race chatter and predictions, Henrich deleted her Instagram account. "It's scary, not going to lie, to be lining up with an Olympic champion right behind you," she told the BBC. "All I had to do was run my own race and kind of ignore it. Before it was like, 'Pretend the crowd is cheering for you.' I actually deleted Instagram so I wouldn't see the predictions [for the race] and stuff like that."
She added: "Then I kept getting these news reports, like 'Keely does the 400,' I don't want to see this! I'm so stressed!' But it's nice to get that done and get the win."
Historic Performance in the Final
In the final, Henrich ran 50.58s, breaking a 44-year Welsh record in the 400m. World indoor champion Amber Anning won the title in 50.16s after a false start reprieve, but Hodgkinson did not compete.
Hodgkinson walked off the track in tears before the final and withdrew. She stated: "I wasn't feeling 100 per cent standing on the start line, so I made the tough decision to step away and not race. I didn't want to risk anything ahead of this summer." On Instagram, she wrote: "Leaving champs healthy!! Sometimes the hard decision is saying no, body wasn't feeling 100 [per cent], exciting summer ahead."
BBC commentary reported a message from Hodgkinson's coach, Jenny Meadows, that the star withdrew due to "a little twinge in her last strides before the race."
What's Next for Hodgkinson
If recovery goes well, Hodgkinson is expected to compete at the Eugene Diamond League in Oregon on July 4 in her usual 800m event, continuing her bid to break Jarmila Kratochvilova's women's world record.
