Keely Hodgkinson aims to become the woman to beat in the 400m event at the UK Athletics Championship. The competition begins on Saturday at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, with the 24-year-old seeking a sub-50-second run after setting a personal best at the Rome Diamond League earlier this month.
The reigning Olympic champion in the 800m is set to compete at her favoured distance but admitted testing herself at 400m is an exciting prospect. She said: 'The 400m, for me, is a bit of fun as well as something different. I've really thrown myself in the deep end and I'm looking forward to challenging myself in that environment.'
'I've always considered myself a 400-800-type athlete. I don't think I've shown all my potential in the and I got a bit of a glimpse of what I could do at the Indoor Championships, so I'm really excited to bring that outdoors. I'm still very much learning the event. I am still not quite sure how to bring it.'
Keely Hodgkinson's Split from Boyfriend
The Team GB star enjoyed a dream 2024 that included two Olympic medals, including gold in the 800m, before being named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. However, she endured heartbreak in her romantic life at the beginning of the year after revealing her three-year relationship with another runner came to an end due to long-distance issues.
'He lived in Texas for a bit, then in Italy, then London. There was always a distance and, because I do what I do and put that first, we could go weeks, months and not see each other,' she told The Times in October 2024. 'I'm not really interested in dating right now. I've never been on the apps. I like meeting people in real life.'
Friendship with Manchester United Star
Not only does Fred Longworth High School in Tyldesley boast Hodgkinson as an alumna, but England and Manchester United star Ella Toone too. Despite the footballer being two years older than the runner, the pair struck up a close friendship.
Opening up about their bond in 2022, Hodgkinson said: 'We are just two young girls living their dreams. Ella and I went to school together. She was two years older but somehow we ended up getting on really well.'
'I was always referred to as the 'mini Ella' growing up at school. So we kept in touch from that and she was in Tokyo last year as well. We are just two young girls living their dreams.'
Hodgkinson's Behaviour Called Out
World Athletics president and Team GB legend Seb Coe has witnessed Hodgkinson's excellence up close and had only kind words to say about her character away from athletics after bumping into her while she celebrated her birthday.
Speaking on the UNTAPPED podcast, Coe praised the humbleness of the 24-year-old, as he said: 'What I love about Keely is she is probably the most, forget athletics, she's probably the most authentic person I currently know.'
'What you see with Keely is what you get. She is very funny, she's totally driven, but she puts things in perspective. I was up in Manchester not that long ago and I bumped into her one night going into a restaurant.'
'I was on my way out. I'd sort of done the early shift and she turned up and it was her birthday. It was a couple of weeks... I mean she'd only just broken the indoor world record.'
'She was only literally a few days away from destroying the field and winning her world indoor title and she was just out celebrating her birthday. She's just completely normal, but she is incredibly well talented.'
'She's got a great coaching team around her. I'm probably going to lose whatever fan base I've got left in the south of England, but she's absolutely rooted to the north of England and that for me counts for a lot in life.'
