Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson received gold in the 800m at the European Championships in Rome, retaining the title she received two years in the past in Munich.
The 22-year-old medal hope for the Paris 2024 Olympics received in a time of 1:58.65, beating Slovakia’s Gabriela Gajanova, who completed strongly to take the silver, and France’s Anais Bourgoin in third.
Hodgkinson led the race all through, holding off her rivals, regardless of not feeling 100 per cent coming into Wednesday’s last.
“I picked up an illness a little bit yesterday,” she informed the BBC. “Sometimes you have simply received to discover a solution to win.
“I wished to exit and get a superb time right this moment however I’m pleased with the win. I feel I’d’ve been upset if I did not attempt.”
Hodgkinson’s gold lifted Great Britain into third in the medal desk on the ultimate evening of motion at the six-day championships.
It is her second main title following her triumph in Munich two years in the past, whereas she has two World Championships silver medals and one other from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when she was simply 19.
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Keely Hodgkinson says she desires to show her silver medal from Tokyo into gold in Paris and shall be ‘fearless’ in her method as she appears to make it occur.
Hodgkinson’s private greatest in the 800m at present stands at 10th quickest on the all-time record at 1:55:19 seconds, making her a serious medal hope in Paris this summer time.
Speaking to Sky Sports forward of the Games, Hodgkinson mentioned: “When individuals take into consideration the day of an Olympic last it may be very anxious. You know ‘oh god, I’ve labored this complete 12 months for two minutes to get it proper’.
“But I feel considered one of my professionals is I look ahead to it a lot that I do not even take into consideration getting it mistaken.
“I’ll sit down and say to myself ‘properly, I’ve raced these women one million occasions’, and I virtually do not give it some thought being this large Olympic last.
“It’s simply two laps of a monitor that I’ve achieved many, many occasions.”
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