Keely Hodgkinson’s feelings are crystal clear as chief brings up party behaviour | Other | Sport

Keely Hodgkinson appears to have found the perfect equilibrium between her athletics career and life beyond the track, judging by her recent achievements. The Olympic 800m champion is riding high following her demolition of the world indoor record and addition of world indoor gold to her expanding medal haul earlier this year.

In the days preceding that triumph, she was seen marking her 24th birthday by World Athletics president Seb Coe, who has praised her grounded character, describing her as the most “authentic person I currently know.” Middle-distance legend Coe, who claimed 1500m gold at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, told the UNTAPPED podcast: “I was on my way out. I’d sort of done the early shift and she turned up, and it was her birthday. I mean, she’d only just broken the indoor world record.

“She was only literally a few days away from destroying the field and winning her world indoor title and she was just out celebrating her birthday. She’s just completely normal, but she is incredibly talented.

“I’m probably going to lose whatever fan base I’ve got left in the south of England, but she’s absolutely rooted to the north of England and that for me counts for a lot in life.” Hodgkinson’s commitment to her training regime means regular evenings out with friends are off the cards.

That said, she does not miss out on a social life altogether. She told The Times in 2024: “I make the most of my off-periods, so when I’m training I don’t feel like I’m missing out. I still go out with my friends, I’ll get dressed up, go for the dinner part and leave when they head off to the club.

“Every year in September, I’ll book a night out and they’ll get one night out with me. We’re going out in Manchester to [the Middle Eastern restaurant] Habbibi. Yeah, I’ll drink.”

Hodgkinson has never felt as though her career has demanded any real sacrifices. She added: “It never felt like a sacrifice because it was something I wanted to do. I never felt like I was missing out.

“My parents weren’t pushy, so I never felt I had to lie to them about where I was. I was living my best life at 15 when I was in school. There were parties every week. I’d be out all night with them, doing what typical teenagers do.”

Hodgkinson is now setting her sights on this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the European Championships in Birmingham. Further down the line, she has her eyes firmly fixed on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Having already graced two Olympics in Tokyo and Paris, the British star is targeting a further three Games appearances, a feat that would see her competing well into her 36th year.