Keely Hodgkinson has thanked the Birmingham crowd for their incredible support on what she described as a 'beautiful night' at Alexander Stadium despite failing to defend her European Athletics Championships title in the women's 800 metres final. Audrey Werro dethroned the British outdoor record holder, who first won gold in Munich four years ago, before repeating that feat in Rome by running a championship-record time in front of a sold-out Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Friday night.
Mixed Emotions After Silver
Hodgkinson, 24, jokingly removed her silver medal in a live BBC interview after being questioned about her feelings on coming second in a race she was the favourite for, following her success in winning the World Athletics Indoor Championships title and setting a new world record earlier this year. The reigning Olympic champion has come second in world-level finals several times, including at the Tokyo Games - before going one better in Paris two years ago - as well as back-to-back World Championships in 2022 and 2023 before taking bronze in the Japanese capital city less than 12 months ago.
After winning a first medal other than gold on the European stage, Hodgkinson shared a selfie with the caption: "Beautiful night, thank you Birmingham!!!! Your support was incredible". In the early hours of Saturday morning, she also shared a photo of herself with her parents, Dean and Rachel, holding up the silver medal around her neck with her left hand.
Post-Race Interview
During her post-race interview with the BBC, she acknowledged the accomplishment of coming second. She said after taking off her silver medal: "I'm kidding, that was a joke. Yeah, a bit of mixed emotions. I think with that level of competition, any medal is a really good achievement, so another one to add to my collection, I can never be disappointed with that. But yeah, I was the defending champion, so I wanted to do that."
"I knew it was going to come down to the wire. I really thought I was going to win today, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I didn't do anything wrong. It's just one of those things."
"I think there were so many different ways that could have played out, and we'd figure it out after the first 100m. Audrey wanted to take it on, and with that wind, I was happy to let her. We're all really great athletes, so I knew it was going to be close. I'm looking forward to the next match-up."
Looking Ahead
Hodgkinson said in a separate interview: "I don't want it to be easy. We're all going to win some, lose some. S*** happens. Audrey fell over yesterday; she did amazingly to bounce back. I know what that took out of me a few weeks ago, so yeah, incredible to her. And, yeah, life goes on. I'll go back and train, and just hope I get it next time."
On the race itself, she said: "Yeah, that last 50 metres, I really thought I had it, but she's a strong athlete. Sometimes you want it so much, and sometimes in terms of real parts it might just not be enough," before adding: "It doesn't sting because I was beaten by a great athlete. I think I put together a pretty good race. I don't think I did anything wrong. The thing about the 800 metres is you have a million different ways it could go in your head. Nobody really knew, so you have to think on your feet, but I think I covered every move well. I just didn't have enough."
