Keely Hodgkinson excited to end year of injuries with return to 800m
The 23-year-old acknowledges that she does not have much time to get her sharpness back before next month's World Championships in Tokyo. But she struck an optimistic note on the eve of the Diamond League meeting in Silesia, Poland, as she readied herself to race again.
'It's been a long time – over a year since Paris,' she said. 'It wasn't my plan to start this late. But I am just super happy to get back on the start line. I've missed it a lot. This is what I train to do. So I can't wait to get out there and give it my absolute best and let's see what happens.'
Hodgkinson has been battling hamstring issues, which flared shortly after the Olympics and then returned on the eve of the Keely Klassic in February, where she had been intending to break the world indoor 800m record. She had hoped to return for last month's London Diamond League, but had to wait until she was 100% ready again.
'It's been upsetting at times,' she said. 'Missing London was hardest for me because I just wanted to be there in front of my home crowd. Yes, it has been frustrating but it makes the good times sweeter and it makes it even better to be here now.'
The plan is test her fitness in Poland against a decent field that includes Oratile Nowe of Botswana, who posted the season's best time of 1:57.49, as well as Gabriela Gajanova, the Slovakian who finished runner-up to Hodgkinson in the 2024 European Championships. If all goes well, she will run again four days later at the Diamond League in Lausanne.
'I've come out ready to go, so I am just excited to put something together. It's been a frustrating year. Back in June I was not able to do anything and coming off the back of winning the Olympics last year it was not ideal at all that I just couldn't get on the start line.
'Tomorrow is just a stepping stone on the way to Tokyo,' she added. 'And I'm looking forward to getting out there and just being competitive again.'
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