
Keely Hodgkinson withdraws from London Diamond League meet with hamstring issue
Hodgkinson now intends to open her season later this month, with just two months remaining until the world championships begin in Tokyo.
A statement from Hodgkinson's team read: 'Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson will not be competing at next weekend's London Diamond League as she continues her preparations for the 2025 season.
'After experiencing a minor setback earlier in the summer, Keely is now back in full training and progressing rapidly. However, the London meet has come slightly too soon in her return to competition.
'Together with her team, she has made the decision to delay her season opener by a few more weeks to ensure she is fully race-ready.
'Keely had been looking forward to returning to the London Stadium, the scene of her British 800m record-breaking run in 2024.
'However, her priority remains arriving at the world championships in Tokyo this September in peak form and this decision supports that long-term goal.
Hodgkinson won 800 metres gold at Paris 2024 (Martin Rickett/PA)
'Her focus is now on completing a solid block of training and opening her 2025 campaign later this month. Further updates on Keely's season debut will be shared in due course.'
Hodgkinson won her maiden Olympic gold at Paris 2024, weeks after setting a British record 800 metres time of one minute 54.61 seconds at the 2024 London Diamond League.
She is hoping to claim a first-ever world title in September after collecting silver in 2022 and 2023.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The National
16 minutes ago
- The National
Computers are taking over sport, and I hate it
From the grass being cut to precisely 8mm long to the club's all-white clothing rule to the tournament's willingness to shun sponsors in its desire to keep the courts looking 'clean' (losing potentially millions of pounds in income in the process), Wimbledon is eternally striving for perfection. This year, however, the flawlessness that Wimbledon prides itself upon has been well and truly shattered. And ironically, it's been destroyed as a direct result of Wimbledon, and tennis more generally, pursuing perfection. It's the automated electronic line calling (ELC) that's been the problem. Even for those who have watched only the bare minimum of this year's Wimbledon, it's been almost impossible to miss the controversy caused by the ELC over the past week. The first major issue came in a crucial moment in British number three Sonay Kartal's match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. On game point, Kartal hit the ball long but as no 'out' call came from the ELC, the umpire ruled the point should be replayed. Kartal won the replayed point before going on to break Pavlyuchenkova's serve. Ultimately, the Russian won the match, rendering the ELC malfunction far less important and decisive than it may have been had the final result gone in Kartal's favour, but it did little to enhance the reputation of ELC. It transpired, after the match, that the ELC system had been inadvertently switched off for an entire game. And to compound Wimbledon's problems, the following day, ELC malfunction number two hours after All England Club officials expressed 'full confidence in the system', it broke down again. During the men's singles quarter-final between Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov, a point had to be stopped mid-rally due to the system malfunctioning and although this also had negligible bearing on the final outcome of the match, it cast yet more doubt over the reliability of the system. ELC cameras at Wimbledon (Image: Getty Images) This week's issues at Wimbledon, though, have only served to highlight what's happening across sport as a whole; electronics are taking over. The introduction of ELC at Wimbledon entirely replaced human line-judges, who had been calling the lines at the tournament for 148 years. In itself, it's not an unreasonable move given that computers calling the lines should, in theory, be more reliable than humans who, as every player knows and has probably been victim of, can make some really huge mistakes. Statistically, the automated line-calling system is more reliable and less prone to errors than humans. But despite knowing this, I still don't like it. I'm extremely uncomfortable with the take-over of electronic systems that's happening not only in tennis, but in many sports. I realise having this opinion only serves to highlight both the fact that I'm stuck in the 1800s, and my utter hypocrisy given I was someone who, as an athlete, would go absolutely off my head every time I got a bad call from a line judge. But despite this, I still deeply dislike the growing influence of automated systems and the way they're fazing out human influence on sporting decisions. I'm not the only one who's less than convinced. British number ones, Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu, are just two of the players who have called into question the accuracy of the calls by the ELC with the automated system, and its mistakes, apparently the 'talk of the locker room', according to several players. Some fans gave been protesting against ELC cameras at Wimbledon 2025 (Image: Getty Images) There are, of course, defenders of the ELC. Tim Henman called Draper and Raducanu's criticisms 'utter garbage' while former Wimbledon champion, Pat Cash, who was initially a strong supporter of the ELC saying pre-tournament it's 'definitely better than the human eye' backtracking and saying in the past few days that some of the ELC's calls are 'absolutely ridiculous' and called for an 'emergency solution' to be put in place at this year's tournament given the mistakes that are being made. There's a number of problems with ELC and the wider takeover of automated systems in sport that's displacing humans. Yes, computers will, generally, be more reliable than people. But in the mad rush to bring in these automated systems, they've been introduced long before they're truly fit for purpose. Computers and automated systems should only be playing this hugely significant role in top level sport if they're close to 100 percent accurate. We've seen in tennis, football and every other sport that uses automated systems, this ideal level of accuracy is far from the current reality. We might get to a point where the systems are almost infallible but until then, their introduction should have been vetoed. We're already at the stage that human umpires and referees are slaves to these electronic systems, despite the fact we all know they make mistakes. And my second misgiving about ELC and other automated systems is that, in sport's pursuit of perfection in terms of decision-making, so much of the entertainment value is being lost. Yes, referees, umpires and line judges getting calls wrong may make for a frustrating day for players who are on the wrong end of certain decisions, but my goodness it made for an entertaining afternoon or evening of sport. I just can't see how electronic calls enhance the sporting experience for the fans. It's time-consuming and, once the novelty has worn off, pretty dull to watch. And, even worse, it's still not always right. I know I'm fighting a losing battle; automated line calling is here to stay, in the same way that VAR in football and every other electronic system in any other sport you want to name is here for good. We've seen the last of line judges at Wimbledon, and at most high-level tennis tournaments, and we're seeing diminishing authority and decreased appetite for any human involvement in decision-making in sport. In the end, ELC and its ilk might end up as a more reliable and accurate way to referee and umpire matches. We're certainly not at that point now, though, and the journey to get there is doing quite considerable damage to sport.


The Herald Scotland
18 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Computers are taking over sport, and I hate it
This year, however, the flawlessness that Wimbledon prides itself upon has been well and truly shattered. And ironically, it's been destroyed as a direct result of Wimbledon, and tennis more generally, pursuing perfection. It's the automated electronic line calling (ELC) that's been the problem. Even for those who have watched only the bare minimum of this year's Wimbledon, it's been almost impossible to miss the controversy caused by the ELC over the past week. The first major issue came in a crucial moment in British number three Sonay Kartal's match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. On game point, Kartal hit the ball long but as no 'out' call came from the ELC, the umpire ruled the point should be replayed. Kartal won the replayed point before going on to break Pavlyuchenkova's serve. Ultimately, the Russian won the match, rendering the ELC malfunction far less important and decisive than it may have been had the final result gone in Kartal's favour, but it did little to enhance the reputation of ELC. It transpired, after the match, that the ELC system had been inadvertently switched off for an entire game. And to compound Wimbledon's problems, the following day, ELC malfunction number two hours after All England Club officials expressed 'full confidence in the system', it broke down again. During the men's singles quarter-final between Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov, a point had to be stopped mid-rally due to the system malfunctioning and although this also had negligible bearing on the final outcome of the match, it cast yet more doubt over the reliability of the system. ELC cameras at Wimbledon (Image: Getty Images) This week's issues at Wimbledon, though, have only served to highlight what's happening across sport as a whole; electronics are taking over. The introduction of ELC at Wimbledon entirely replaced human line-judges, who had been calling the lines at the tournament for 148 years. In itself, it's not an unreasonable move given that computers calling the lines should, in theory, be more reliable than humans who, as every player knows and has probably been victim of, can make some really huge mistakes. Statistically, the automated line-calling system is more reliable and less prone to errors than humans. But despite knowing this, I still don't like it. I'm extremely uncomfortable with the take-over of electronic systems that's happening not only in tennis, but in many sports. I realise having this opinion only serves to highlight both the fact that I'm stuck in the 1800s, and my utter hypocrisy given I was someone who, as an athlete, would go absolutely off my head every time I got a bad call from a line judge. But despite this, I still deeply dislike the growing influence of automated systems and the way they're fazing out human influence on sporting decisions. I'm not the only one who's less than convinced. British number ones, Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu, are just two of the players who have called into question the accuracy of the calls by the ELC with the automated system, and its mistakes, apparently the 'talk of the locker room', according to several players. Some fans gave been protesting against ELC cameras at Wimbledon 2025 (Image: Getty Images) There are, of course, defenders of the ELC. Tim Henman called Draper and Raducanu's criticisms 'utter garbage' while former Wimbledon champion, Pat Cash, who was initially a strong supporter of the ELC saying pre-tournament it's 'definitely better than the human eye' backtracking and saying in the past few days that some of the ELC's calls are 'absolutely ridiculous' and called for an 'emergency solution' to be put in place at this year's tournament given the mistakes that are being made. There's a number of problems with ELC and the wider takeover of automated systems in sport that's displacing humans. Yes, computers will, generally, be more reliable than people. But in the mad rush to bring in these automated systems, they've been introduced long before they're truly fit for purpose. Computers and automated systems should only be playing this hugely significant role in top level sport if they're close to 100 percent accurate. We've seen in tennis, football and every other sport that uses automated systems, this ideal level of accuracy is far from the current reality. We might get to a point where the systems are almost infallible but until then, their introduction should have been vetoed. We're already at the stage that human umpires and referees are slaves to these electronic systems, despite the fact we all know they make mistakes. And my second misgiving about ELC and other automated systems is that, in sport's pursuit of perfection in terms of decision-making, so much of the entertainment value is being lost. Yes, referees, umpires and line judges getting calls wrong may make for a frustrating day for players who are on the wrong end of certain decisions, but my goodness it made for an entertaining afternoon or evening of sport. I just can't see how electronic calls enhance the sporting experience for the fans. It's time-consuming and, once the novelty has worn off, pretty dull to watch. And, even worse, it's still not always right. I know I'm fighting a losing battle; automated line calling is here to stay, in the same way that VAR in football and every other electronic system in any other sport you want to name is here for good. We've seen the last of line judges at Wimbledon, and at most high-level tennis tournaments, and we're seeing diminishing authority and decreased appetite for any human involvement in decision-making in sport. In the end, ELC and its ilk might end up as a more reliable and accurate way to referee and umpire matches. We're certainly not at that point now, though, and the journey to get there is doing quite considerable damage to sport.


Glasgow Times
5 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Iga Swiatek fires back at her doubters by winning maiden Wimbledon title
The Pole crushed first-time grand slam finalist Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in less than an hour on Centre Court, making it the most one-sided final for 114 years. Not since 1911, when Dorothea Lambert Chambers beat Dora Boothby, had a Wimbledon title been decided by such a scoreline, while the only other instance at a grand slam came in the French Open in 1988 when Steffi Graf beat Natasha Zvereva. A new Wimbledon champion is crowned 🇵🇱 Iga Swiatek defeats Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 to win the 2025 Ladies' Singles Trophy 🏆#Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2025 Swiatek had slipped to eighth in the world rankings after a disappointing clay season by her extremely lofty standards, with the 24-year-old failing to win the French Open for the first time since 2021. 'We as public people and as athletes, we can't really react to everything what's going on,' said Swiatek, who served a one-month doping ban at the end of last season after taking contaminated medication. 'We've got to focus on ourselves. Obviously sometimes it's easier to do that, sometimes it's harder. For sure, the past months, how the media sometimes describe me – and I've got to say, unfortunately, Polish media, how they treated me and my team, it wasn't really pleasant. 'I hope they will just leave me alone and let me do my job because obviously you can see that we know what we are doing, and I have the best people around me. Iga Swiatek celebrates victory (Adam Davy/PA) 'I have already proved a lot. I know people want more and more, but it's my own process and my own life and my own career.' Swiatek maintained her unblemished record in grand slam finals, making it six titles and becoming the first Polish player, male or female, to win a Wimbledon singles trophy. By adding the grass-court title to her four French Open crowns and one US Open trophy she has also now won slams on all the surfaces. She had never previously been beyond the Wimbledon quarter-finals, and she said: 'It's something that is just surreal. I feel like tennis keeps surprising me, and I keep surprising myself. The Princess of Wales presents the Venus Rosewater Dish to Iga Swiatek (Andrew Matthews/PA) 'I think the fact that it's on grass, for sure it makes it more special, I would say, and more unexpected. So it feels like the emotions are bigger because, at Roland Garros, I know I can play well, and I know I can show it every year. Here, I wasn't sure of that. I also needed to prove that to myself.' Anisimova's comeback has been one of the stories of the fortnight, with the former teenage prodigy having stepped away from tennis for eight months in 2023 for mental health reasons. She came into the final off the back of a semi-final victory over Aryna Sabalenka but from the start appeared paralysed by nerves. Anisimova's serve deserted her and there were many more errors than winners off the ground. Amanda Anisimova failed to win a game (Adam Davy/PA) The crowd, who had paid more than £300 each per ticket, willed the American to find a foothold in the contest but Swiatek was utterly ruthless. Another treat for the Pole was receiving the trophy from the Princess of Wales. 'On court she just congratulated (me),' said Swiatek. 'She told me some nice stuff about the performance. Later on, I don't remember really because I was too overwhelmed. 'I didn't want to do any faux pas. I wanted to behave well. Overall the process of getting the trophy from Her Royal Highness was something surreal. Since I'm a kid, honestly I'm a big fan of the Royal family. It was amazing.'