Keely Hodgkinson shakes off illness to win gold and clinch 800 metre title

Keely Hodgkinson at British Indoor Championships
Keely Hodgkinson shook off illness to clinch the 800 metre gold and title

Keely Hodgkinson has kept her 800 metres title after seeing off Gabriela Gajanova for the Gold at the European Athletics Championships in Rome.

Despite feeling unwell in the run up to the race the Atherton-born athlete clinched the title just milliseconds ahead of the Slovakian. The 22-year-old led from the front to win in a time of 58.65 seconds but was pushed to the line by the fast-finishing Gajanova, who took silver in 58.79.Hodgkinson’s winning time was significantly slower than the 58.07 she clocked in sealing her place in the final on Tuesday as fastest qualifier.

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Speaking after the race she said: “Sometimes you’ve just got to find a way to win.“I wanted to go out and get a good time today but I’m happy with the win. I think I would have been disappointed if I didn’t try.”She now has her sights set on Olympic Gold in Paris this summer, having had to settle for silver at both the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the two most recent World Championships.