Keely Hodgkinson admitted she wanted more despite returning to winning ways at the London Diamond League, with the Olympic champion relieved to put a difficult start to her outdoor season behind her.
Keely Hodgkinson was left wanting more but admits there was some relief at opening her account for the outdoor season in London. A couple of shock defeats over 800m, and a fall in training that left the Olympic champion with a pair of bashed up knees had been far from the ideal start to Hodgkinson’s 2026 summer.
But with her knees on the mend and racing in front of a revved-up crowd that had just witness Josh Kerr break the world mile record at the Wanda Diamond League, Hodgkinson held off Femke Broeders-Bol to take victory in 1:56.21.
That time was a couple of seconds behind the British record she set in Stockholm in June, when she was surprisingly beaten by Switzerland’s Audrey Werro, and Hodgkinson admitted she had been hoping to go quicker.
She said: “I actually felt pretty good. I was hoping for a bit more, but overall I’m happy to take the win. It’s been a tough couple of weeks, and it was great to compete in front of a home crowd. It was fun, but I just wanted a little bit more. Given the last couple of weeks, though, I’m happy enough.
“I don’t think it’s a reflection of where my training is. Sometimes it just takes a little while for things to come together. It’s been a tough season so far, but I’m proud of how I’ve handled it.”
Hodgkinson will now skip the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, instead focusing all her attention on the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, at the same Alexander Stadium where she won Commonwealth silver four years ago.
Meanwhile, Blackley sprinter Success Eduan continued her impressive form with a sixth-placed finish in the strongest field of the entire day. Eduan ran 22.53, just a tenth slower than the personal best set when winning the UK Champs last month, in a race won by Olympic 100m gold medallist Julian Alfred ahead of reigning Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas.
Add in Bahamian two-time 400m Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo in third and British duo Dina Asher-Smith and Amy Hunt, and it is fair to say Eduan was up against the highest-quality field of her career so far.
So while she sets high expectations for herself, the 21-year-old was also pleased with her performance at the London Stadium. She said: “I think I ran a really good race. This time last year it would have been a personal best for me, so I’m really pleased.
“Last year the field wasn’t anywhere near as stacked as it is now, so I’m just really grateful to be competing against athletes like that. I know there’s still so much more to come from me as well.
“I don’t even think I’m at my fastest yet, which is quite exciting. I’m still in quite a heavy training phase, so we’re just trying to take things slowly and not peak too early. The most important part of the season is still to come.”
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