Keely Hodgkinson set for first race 376 days since Olympic gold after year of injury horror
Keely Hodgkinson will put 376 days of injury frustration behind her in Poland this afternoon by racing for the first time since storming to Olympic gold last summer.
And the 800m superstar will immediately hope to lay down a marker with less than a month to go before the World Championships in Tokyo.
Hodgkinson, 23, has been battling a series of hamstring issues since her glorious triumph in Paris and had a series of false starts so far this season, including withdrawing from her own indoor meet in Birmingham after tearing a muscle.
But she will take on a modest field in Silesia as an appetiser to their Diamond League programme before competing in Lausanne on Wednesday night.
And Hodgkinson said: 'It's been a long time, over a year since Paris. It wasn't my plan to be this late but I'm just super happy to be back on a start line.
'I've missed it a lot, this is what I train to do. I can't wait to get out there, give my absolute best and we'll see what happens.
'It's been a frustrating year for real, it's been so long coming off the back of winning the Olympics last year, not ideal at all not even getting on a start line.
'It's been upsetting at times. It's been frustrating but it makes the good times sweeter and it makes it even better to be here now.'
Georgia Hunter Bell, who races over 1500m today, will make up her mind over whether to attempt the middle-distance double in Tokyo after Lausanne.
Hodgkinson's training partner believes the path to a medal in the shorter distance could be clearer even though she won Olympic bronze over the longer event a year ago. Yet how Hodgkinson performs in the next few days could also inform Hunter Bell's decision.
'It's just a stepping stone on the way there' Hodgkinson said of how important her season opener will be when it comes to Tokyo. 'I'm looking forward to being competitive again. I'm ready to go, I'm just excited to put something together.'
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