Meet the five Team GB stars who can become the next Keely Hodgkinson | Other | Sport
Keely Hodgkinson has emerged as the poster child of British athletics (Image: Getty)
Keely Hodgkinson is the newest household name in British athletics, having catapulted herself into the public eye by winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago. She followed that up by winning Sports Personality of the Year, becoming the first Olympian to land the prize since Mo Farah back in 2017. This saw her emerge as Team GB‘s poster child, inheriting the role once held by the likes of long-distance runner Farah, heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill and triathletes the Brownlee brothers.
However, she isn’t the only superstar that Britain has to offer. There will be opportunities for new heroes to write their own history in the summer, with the European Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games looming large. Those events will paint an interesting picture of how Team GB are shaping up ahead of the LA Olympics in 2028.
Adam Gemili, who competed at the Games on three occasions and secured World Athletics Championship glory in 2017, believes there is plenty to be excited about.
He’s expecting several athletes to join Hodgkinson at the forefront of British athletics, with Amy Hunt among the most likely to reach household name status.
Hunt is already an Olympic medallist, having been part of the 4x100m relay squad that won silver at the Tokyo Games. Last year, she ran 11.02 in the 100m and 22.08 in the 200m, making her an up-and-coming force to be reckoned with.
“She had such an incredible year last year and she’s just going from strength to strength,” Gemili told Express Sport.
“It’s her personality as well. I think Amy Hunt is going to be a big name. She was already a big name, but she’ll become a household name.
“The current crop is insane. I’d say Amy and Keely together could do massive things. Amy’s so smart, she’s Cambridge educated and she’s a really lovely person as well, which helps.”
Gemili picked out four others with the potential to achieve greatness for Team GB, who are in a very good position as things stand.
Amy Hunt will be hoping to follow in Hodgkinson’s footsteps in the near future (Image: Getty)
“I’m excited to see Jack Whiteman come back and compete,” he added. “He has been a world champion but I don’t think people have really seen the best of him yet.
“In terms of younger athletes, there’s a sprinter I used to train with called Romell Glave, who I’m hoping if he can stay healthy and fit, he can do something really, really exciting at the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships.
“Molly Caudery, who’s a massive name, can hopefully go out there and continue her dominance. Josh Kerr. Honestly, there’s so many big names. I guess we’ll have to see in the summer.”
There are still two years until the next Olympics, but everything is already building up to the Games and Team GB will be hoping for an impressive haul of medals on the athletics track.
“It’s going to be one of the best we’ve seen in a very long time,” said Gemili. “The Americans are going to do it big and they’re going to spare no expense.
“I can only talk on behalf of the athletics team, but if it stays with the current crop, we could potentially have seven or eight individual medallists.
“Normally the relay makes up a big chunk of medals, but if it stays how it is, there’s big scope for a lot of individual medals.
“It will be a last swansong for a lot of athletes. An older generation will move out and a new generation will come and take over the mantle. It won’t be one to miss.”
