Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson will race the 800 metre event at the London Athletics Meet on Saturday, July 18.
A welcome return
It will mark a welcome return to the London Stadium for the 24-year-old. She made history at the 2024 event with a meeting record, national record and personal best of 1:54.61. The performance moved her from tenth up to sixth on the world all-time rankings.
It was also the perfect preparation for Paris. And it was in Paris where she went on to win Olympic gold, added to a fast-growing CV. She has won Olympic silver (Tokyo 2021), a world indoor title, four European titles, and three outdoor World Championship medals. She has also medalled at the Commonwealth Games.
Hodgkinson was due to compete in London last year. Still, it was forced to delay her much-anticipated season-opener as she continued to make her way back to full fitness. She was down due to two hamstring injuries. Remarkably, she ended her season with a World Championships bronze medal. In her only Diamond League appearance of the year, she accomplished her second-fastest time ever (1:54.74).
A great start to 2026
Hodgkinson has been exceptional in 2026 to date. Most notably, breaking Jolanda Ceplak’s long-standing women’s indoor 800m world record (1:54.87) and winning her first world indoor title.
“I had such an amazing indoor season. And I’m full of gratitude to be healthy, happy and to have such amazing people around me,” said the M11 Track Club athlete. “I didn’t get the chance to show what I was fully capable of last year. But with such a great atmosphere in London, I know I’ll make the most of the opportunity. I can’t wait to see what happens next.”
There are just 50 days to go until the Novuna London Athletics Meet. It is the world’s biggest one-day athletics event and the eleventh meeting of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League. The series comprises 15 of the most prestigious events in global track and field across four different continents. The series began in Shanghai/Keqiao on May 16 (as a result of the Mazzraty Doha Meeting being rescheduled from 8 May to 19 June). It concludes with a single final across two days in Brussels (4-5 September).
Tickets: https://www.britishathletics.org.uk/events-and-tickets/novuna-london-athletics-meet-2026/
