“The future is bright.”
Keely Hodgkinson
Introduction
Keely Hodgkinson is an athlete who is a force to be reckoned with. The 22-year-old, who her childhood coach Margaret Galvin described as “always special”, first got the running bug when she joined the running club Leigh Harrier at the age of nine and sprinted ahead as a county champion through the age groups. Remaining grounded and humble throughout this sporting process, she was prepared to sacrifice everything for her dream to run and win medals. She would leave family trips to train before racing back to her loved ones. A woman who broke Kelly Homes’ Olympic record and became a two-time European indoor champion and a silver Commonwealth Games medallist.
The Race to Victory
Raised in Atherton near Wigan, this stellar athlete, who stands at 5ft 7in tall, became a middle-distance runner and graduated with a criminology degree from Leeds Beckett University in 2021. She is an athlete who has travelled the world with the constant love and support of her parents, Rachael and Dean Hodgkinson. Yet it hasn’t all gone her way. Tragedy struck early on in life when she was discovered to have a tumour which left her partially deaf in one ear. A tumour that has been growing for ten years. Fortunately, it was non-cancerous and not life-threatening. A tumour that crushed through her hearing bones and was touching her spine.
Yet this 13-year-old took the life-threatening option to have surgery to remove the rumour that ran the risk of leaving her with Facial Palsy. Surgery that left her unable to walk for a while and hearing problems growing up. A teenager who became friends with the England Lioness Ella Toone at Longworth High School. A friendship that earned Keely the nickname ‘mini Ella’. Hodgkinson focuses on sprints rather than long runs. Although she does do long runs in the summer when the track sessions become more intense. An athlete who mixes the cross trainer and weights with breakfast is a bowl of porridge, toast, and a cup of tea.
The Ultimate Goal
The Paris Olympics allowed Keely to go one step further and go for gold. With coach Trevor Painter in her corner, the nation’s weight was on her shoulders. Could she go one better than silver in Tokyo and win gold in the 800 metres? Regarding the race in the Stade De France, Keely hit the front on the first lap but led all the way to clinch victory. A stellar win that makes her a true star of the sport with a bright future ahead of her.
