Forget complex warm-up routines or intense visualisation; two of Britain's brightest athletic stars have a surprisingly simple, and hilariously relatable, pre-race ritual: getting utterly lost on Google Maps.
Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson and world champion Josh Kerr have teamed up for a new promotional campaign for World Athletics, showcasing a side of elite athletes the public rarely sees. The playful video, released on social media, features the pair using Google Maps to 'find' the Paris 2024 Olympic Stadium.
The results are comedy gold. The duo can be seen dramatically spinning in circles, mimicking the classic Google Maps navigation experience, as they attempt to locate the iconic Stade de France from their training base in the UK.
'We just wanted to bring a bit of light-heartedness to the sport,' explained Hodgkinson, the 800m phenomenon. 'It's about showing that while we are incredibly focused on the track, we can still have fun and not take ourselves too seriously all the time.'
Kerr, who famously dethroned Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win 1500m gold in Budapest, echoed the sentiment. 'The pressure is always there in the background, especially in an Olympic year. Something like this is a great way to break that up and connect with fans in a different way.'
The campaign is a strategic move by World Athletics to humanise its stars and make the sport more accessible to a broader, younger audience ahead of the Paris Games. By leveraging the universal familiarity—and frustration—of using navigation apps, they've created a moment of shared humour.
While their on-screen navigation skills might need work, there's no doubt about their sense of direction on the track. Both athletes are considered among Britain's strongest gold medal prospects for the upcoming Olympics, where they will be hoping their real-world journey ends on the podium.
