Hodgkinson Takes 800m Silver, Breaks British Record at 19

Keely Hodgkinson took Olympic silver in the women's 800m in Tokyo, running 1:55.88 to break Dame Kelly Holmes's British record. She was 19 years old, and a Loughborough student on her first Olympic Games.

From fourth to second on the home straight

Hodgkinson sat fourth as the field turned for home, then unleashed her closing kick. She surged past rivals in the final metres to claim second at the Japan National Stadium on 3 August 2021.

She came home 0.67 seconds behind the United States' Athing Mu, also 19, who won gold in an American record of 1:55.21. Britain's Jemma Reekie ran a personal best of 1:56.90 and missed bronze by just 0.09 to Raevyn Rogers.

First British 800m medal since Holmes in 2004

The silver was Team GB's first medal of the athletics programme, and Britain's first women's 800m Olympic medal since Kelly Holmes in 2004. It was also the first time three British women had reached an Olympic 800m final.

Months earlier, Hodgkinson had become the youngest women's 800m European Indoor champion, days after turning 19. Tokyo confirmed she belonged on the senior stage.

"It was so open, and I wanted to put it all out there, I'm so happy," Hodgkinson told BBC Sport after the race. She spoke warmly of Holmes, saying the two had talked in the days before the final.

The silver marked the start of a steady climb: World silver in Eugene and Budapest, then Olympic gold in Paris three years later.