Keely Hodgkinson made feelings perfectly clear as athletics chief brings up birthday behaviour
Keely Hodgkinson had addressed what she does away from the track
Hodgkinson enjoys life away from the track(Image: keely.hodgkinson/Instagram)
Keely Hodgkinson has struck the right balance between her athletics career and enjoying life away from the track, if her recent success is anything to go by.
The Olympic 800m champion is on the crest of a wave after smashing the world indoor record and adding world indoor gold to her growing medal collection earlier this year. In the days before that success, she was spotted celebrating her 24th birthday by the World Athletics president Seb Coe, who has hailed her down-to-earth nature, calling her the most “authentic person I currently know.”
Middle-distance icon Coe, who won 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.
Seb Coe is a big fan of Hodgkinson(Image: Getty)
“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 dedication to her training means she can’t enjoy regular nights out with friends. However, she doesn’t miss out entirely on a social life.
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.
Hodgkinson enjoys life away from the track(Image: keely.hodgkinson/Instagram)
“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 like she has had to make sacrifices for her career. 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 has two huge events coming up this year(Image: Getty Images)
Hodgkinson is gearing up for this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and European Championships in Birmingham. Long-term, she is targeting the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
She has already competed at two Olympics in Tokyo and Paris and is eyeing three more Games appearances, which would take her to the age of 36.
