Keely Hodgkinson has been a star of the track ever since she burst onto the scene in 2021, but the Olympic 800m champion has had to overcome several obstacles away from sport
Olympic gold medalist Keely Hodgkinson has had a whirlwind journey since winning hearts in Paris last summer.
The 23-year-old became an overnight sensation after her stunning victory in the 800m event. Since then, she’s maintained her status as an athletic powerhouse, having first made waves with a silver medal win at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
The Mancunian secured silver at the World Indoor Championships in 2022 and clinched her first senior outdoor gold at the European championships in Munich later that year. Since then she’s been on a trajectory that has seen her scoop the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award last year.
As her celebrity rises, Hodgkinson has also been spotted at events such as the Brit Awards and Formula 1’s 2025 launch. With the Olympian now preparing for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September, Mirror Sport takes a closer look at her life off the track.
Brain tumour scare
Behind her remarkable accomplishments lies a story of resilience. Hodgkinson has bravely shared details about a harrowing experience with a tumour that resulted in partial deafness in one ear, reports Wales Online.
“It crushed through my hearing bones and it was just touching my spine,” she told Sky Sports in 2024. “So the risk for the operation was to take it out or keep it in.
“If you keep it in and let it grow, it can hit the spine and I could end up with Facial Palsy. Now that was quite scary for a 13-year-old girl to think that could happen, but the bones were already crushed anyway so they tried to save them but that turned out why I had a lot of hearing problems growing up.”
She revealed a long operation meant she missed a month of school as a child. “I couldn’t walk – which is weird to think – because it’s in your ear, your balance and things like that,” she said. “But luckily it all went to plan. They got rid of it and I’m just left with missing hearing. It’s not too bad.”
Split from her boyfriend
In an October 2024 interview with The Sunday Times, the middle-distance champion candidly disclosed that her three-year romance came to a end in January. Her ex-boyfriend in question was reportedly a fellow runner who lived abroad.
Hodgkinson acknowledged that the geographic separation ultimately spelled the end of their relationship. “Long-distance killed it,” she said. “He was living in Texas and then Italy, and with my schedule, we could go weeks without seeing each other. It was tough.”
She also revealed that she was now single, adding: “I’m not really interested in dating right now. I’ve never been on the apps. I like meeting people in real life.”
Heartbreak
The track star admitted that she was “heartbroken” after her plans to try and smash the world indoor 800m record in February this year were left in tatters.
Hodgkinson was dealt a devastating blow after suffering a hamstring tear ahead of the Keely Klassic in Birmingham, a meet named after her.
“Things really came together well and just at the last second, it’s sadly been taken away,” she said to Sky News. “That’s probably why this happened. Too much speed and the muscles can’t quite take it yet. Each year I’m getting stronger and stronger,” she stated. Her sights are now firmly set on shattering the 42-year-old world record, set in 1983 by Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova.
“I look forward to having that as a really big target and seeing how fast I can go,” she said. With her eyes on the prize, she’s eager to recover quickly and return to her dominant form in Tokyo this Autumn.
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