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Family time is the richest reward for Keely Hodgkinson

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Published in Athletics
Tuesday, 06 August 2024 09:19
The trappings of success can wait for Great Britains new Olympic 800m champion

She will look into buying a Porsche, Though I dont know if my insurance will let me, laughs Keely Hodgkinson. The newly crowned 800m Olympic champion also has her eye on a gold Cartier ring to commemorate a moment at the Stade de France that will live long in the memory.

For now, though, the only shiny object that matters is the medal she will be able to hang around her neck, while the post-championships reward she is most looking forward to is some quality time with her loved ones on a family holiday in Marbella. Oh, and being able to let the diet slip a little to accommodate the odd chocolate brownie or two.

The 22-year-olds win means $50,000 in prize money will be heading into her bank account from World Athletics and her new status in the sporting world means yet more sponsors will come calling and the media interest will grow ever larger, but for now those exterior trappings of success can wait for another day.

After waiting three years to experience her first global title, she is going to savour this one. The first stage of doing that came in a Parisian bar late on Monday night.

I joined my family, I have no idea where, says Hodgkinson in the midst of the round of early morning media follow-up interviews that come with medal success. It was great. Everyone was drunk, as you can imagine, but they were really, really happy so it was nice to celebrate with them. The bar was absolutely rammed with friends and faces I hadnt seen in a long time. It was great to have that support.

(Getty)

After crossing the line to win the first global title of her career, Hodgkinson was enveloped by a maelstrom of publicity and attention as the emotions poured out. There had been the pressure associated with being the big favourite, the frustrations of coming away from successive World Championships with silver, the desire for the years and months of work to come to fruition right when she wanted them to.

It was about four oclock in the morning when I finally had a moment to myself, she says, reliving the hours that followed victory. I watched the race back and it was really good to see and to listen to the commentary. It was surreal. It will take a while to sink in but its definitely a great thing.

Her next comment is telling, however. As she watched, Hodgkinson started to pick a couple of holes in the performance. Its clear that no laurels are about to be rested on and there is much more of a feeling that this is just the beginning for her, rather than the peak of a career.

The race wasnt actually one of my finest, to be honest, she said of the 1:56.72 that kept her clear of Tsige Duguma and Mary Moraa. I would have liked it to have been a little bit harder. But all that mattered really was that we got the job done, stayed composed, I could feel Mary coming on me but ultimately I knew I was going to be hard to beat because I do feel like I am in the best shape I have ever been in, so I just had to trust in that and I delivered.

There will be more races to run in 2024, while the 800m world record may well lie in her future, but its to the Costa del Sol that Hodgkinsons mind has already turned.

My parents and me, what we would love is some quality time together, says the European champion, who splits most of her year between Manchester and South Africa when she isnt travelling to competitions. I dont get to see them very often. I dont live at home any more. They have gone out to Marbella for a holiday so I am going to go and join them and the rest of the family for a few days. That is enough for me.

Catch up with our daily Paris 2024 podcast here

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