4-time Olympic medallist Seb Coe has shared his true emotions about Staff GB celebrity Keely Hodgkinson
World Athletics president and Staff GB legend Seb Coe says Keely Hodgkinson is essentially the most real particular person he is aware of. Coe recalled the time he met the 800m phenom out celebrating her birthday.
Hodgkinson has swiftly change into the face of British athletics on the age of 24. She gained her first Olympic gold in dominant style at Paris 2024 and set a ladies’s world indoor 800m document in February. Her private greatest time was achieved on the London Diamond League in 2024, a 1:54.61.
She gained her first world indoor title in Torun in March, including to her 2024 BBC Sports activities Character of the 12 months success and the MBE she was awarded final 12 months for her companies to athletics.
Hodgkinson continues to seize the general public’s admiration along with her down-to-earth persona and fellow Olympic champion Coe could not assist however heap limitless reward on the Larger Manchester-born observe star.
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Coe, who gained 1500m gold on the 1980 and 1984 video games earlier than masterminding London 2012, appeared on the UNTAPPED podcast and was requested about Hodgkinson. He stated: “What I really like about Keely is she might be essentially the most, overlook athletics, she’s in all probability essentially the most genuine particular person I presently know.
“What you see with Keely is what you get. She may be very humorous, she’s completely pushed, however she places issues in perspective. I used to be up in Manchester not that way back and I ran into her one evening going right into a restaurant.
“I used to be on my method out. I might form of finished the early shift and she or he turned up and it was her birthday. It was a few weeks… I imply she’d solely simply damaged the indoor world document.
“She was solely actually a couple of days away from destroying the sphere and successful her world indoor title and she or he was simply out celebrating her birthday. She’s simply utterly regular, however she is extremely effectively proficient. She’s received an amazing teaching staff round her.
“I am in all probability going to lose no matter fan base I’ve received left within the south of England, however she’s completely rooted to the north of England and that for me counts for lots in life.”
Hodgkinson has been dabbling with shorter distances and can start her 2026 outside season on the Rome Diamond League in June. However her coach Jenny Meadows admitted that breaking the longest-standing document in observe and area is on the long-term agenda.
Jarmila Kratochvilova’s ladies’s outside 800m world document time of 1:53.28 has stood since July 1983 and Hodgkinson’s greatest is a 1:54.61. Meadows informed Athletics Weekly: “I feel we’re simply determined to see that 1:53 first earlier than we try to go right down to the 1:53.28.
“As a result of she has these months now of constant coaching this winter, she’s hitting outside instances indoors, and it simply makes me actually excited. I feel she might be operating these 1:53s that she’s so determined to run.
“Whether or not it is 1:53.28, we’ll see, however it was in London in 2024 that she noticed 1:54 on the clock for the primary time and now she’s actually trying ahead to that second when she sees 1:53 on the clock.”
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