TRACKGIRLZ lives by our seven core values that truly define what it means to be a TrackGirl: Bold, Resilient, Authenticity, Vision, Excellence, Unity and Poise. Together they stand for BRAVE UP! This is our call for girls to stand up for themselves, their beliefs and others.

The Sisterhood Spotlight selects a female athlete who embodies these values to showcase weekly.

In the high-stakes world of Olympic track and field, where milliseconds can mean the difference between glory and obscurity, Keely Hodgkinson is writing her own playbook. At just 22, the British middle-distance runner isn’t just aiming for gold this week – she’s revolutionizing what it means to be an elite athlete in the 21st century. 

Picture the British Olympics prep camp: athletes arrive in matching team kits, faces set with determination. Then Hodgkinson arrives, with designer sunglasses perched on her nose and a luxury handbag swinging from her arm. You could mistake her for being in the wrong place, until she steps onto the track and leaves those misconceptions in her dust. 

This juxtaposition of style icon and speed demon is what makes Hodgkinson so captivating. Her coaches, rather than trying to rein her in, have made the bold choice to let Keely be Keely. The results speak for themselves: silver medals at Tokyo and two World Championships, and now she’s arriving in Paris with a 1:54.61 time in the 800m – a second faster than any other woman this year, and the quickest since Caster Semenya’s 1:54.25 run in 2018.

Hodgkinson’s journey exemplifies the core values championed by TrackGirlz, particularly her remarkable poise both on and off the track. She has cultivated the ability to maintain composure under pressure, whether it’s in high-stakes races or navigating fame, showcasing the essence of what it means to “BRAVE UP!” Hodgkinson carries herself with confidence, stands up for herself and her beliefs, and refuses to be boxed in.

Born in 2002 in Wigan, England, Hodgkinson’s journey began when she watched Jessica Ennis-Hill clinch heptathlon gold at the London 2012 Games. Inspired, she quickly made her mark on the track. At 16, she became the 800m European U18 Champion, following up with bronze at the European U20 Championships a year later. Despite facing surgery and knee and shin injuries, Hodgkinson steadily racked up awards throughout her teenage years, culminating in her placement on Team Great Britain for the Tokyo Olympics at age 19. 

In a showstopping final where six of the seven competitors set lifetime bests, Hodgkinson won the silver medal with a time of 1:55.88 – almost two seconds faster than her barely-month old British U23 record-setting personal best. Her win also broke Dame Kelly Holmes’ British record of 1:56.21, which had been standing undefeated for 26 years. Only Team USA’s Athing Mu stood between Hodgkinson and gold. 

The rivalry between Hodgkinson and Mu has since been a focal point of women’s middle-distance running. However, recent events have shifted the dynamic. At the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, Mu stumbled and fell during her 800m heat, failing to qualify for the Paris Games. This unexpected turn of events has removed one of Hodgkinson’s main competitors from the Olympic field – but she’s since made that a moot point, having run faster than Mu’s lifetime best just a few weeks ago.

The path to the top has not been a straightforward one for Hodgkinson. The post-Olympic period brought unexpected challenges as she was thrust into the limelight, going from relatively unknown to one of Britain’s biggest Tokyo success stories. She recently admitted to experiencing a period of depression as she grappled with her newfound fame and the post-Olympic comedown.

“She has been through some tough times in the last couple of years,” her coach Trevor Painter said. “Suddenly you’ve got all these people wanting to talk to you and money on the table for this, that and the other, and it can be daunting when you are trying to train and run.”

True to her resilient spirit, Hodgkinson has bounced back on her own terms. She’s embraced opportunities beyond the track, signing partnerships with major fashion brands and becoming a recognizable face in British sports. This blend of athletic excellence and marketability has placed her among a new breed of sports icons, as comfortable on magazine covers as she is on the starting line.

As the Paris Olympics begin, Hodgkinson stands at a pivotal moment in her career. No longer the underdog, she’s a favorite for gold, carrying the hopes of a nation. Her coach sees something special in her mindset: “When she believes in herself, she’s very, very hard to beat,” Painter said. “She almost manifests situations and performances.”

This self-belief has fueled spectacular performances in 2024. At the London Diamond League, Hodgkinson destroyed her own national record with a time of 1:54.61, cementing her status as the fastest woman over 800m this year. “The way I ran it as well, leading the whole way, I think there could be more in there,” she reflected, hinting at even greater possibilities.

As she takes to the track in Paris, Hodgkinson isn’t just running for a medal – she’s chasing history. The controversial world record of 1:53.28, set by Jarmila Kratochvilova in 1983, is starting to come within reach. “Before she retires, she’ll run 1:53,” Painter predicted confidently. “Whether she gets the record, we’ll see, but we’ll give it a go.”

The stage is set for something extraordinary, but for Hodgkinson, the focus remains simple: “I’m still kind of the same person – just wanting to do my best, training really hard and seeing how fast I can really go.”

As the Olympics unfold, all eyes will be on Keely Hodgkinson – who has already rewritten the British record books and now stands on the brink of global domination. Whether she claims gold or shatters world records, one thing is certain: Hodgkinson is no longer running in anyone’s shadow. She’s blazing her own trail, in spike shoes and designer shades, leaving the rest of the world to chase her dust.