Keely Hodgkinson has decided to withdraw from next weekend’s London Diamond League meeting because she doesn’t feel her body is ready to compete back at that level just yet.
The Olympic champion is still on the road to recovery, having withdrawn from her intended comeback in Stockholm last month following a setback in her recovery from a hamstring injury.
And the Atherton-born 23-year-old skipped the Eugene Diamond League too while returning to full training. The Olympic champion is progressing well but the London event comes too soon.
“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,” a statement from Hodgkinson’s team read.
“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.”
It’s two months until the opening day in Tokyo and there is still time for Hodgkinson to regain the race fitness she is aiming for. The Japanese capital will bring good memories for her, as she burst onto the world stage with her Olympic silver medal at the 2020 games, aged just 19. In the process, she broke former Olympic champion Kelly Holmes’ British record.
Since then, she’s medalled at all the subsequent major championships, picking up gold at the 2022 European Championships in Munich, silver at both the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the World Championships of the same year, prior to her glorious victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics, when she became the first Brit for eight years to win an athletics gold.
On the immediate future, the statement on Hodgkinson added: “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.”
