Hunter Bell leads Hodgkinson as GB win 800m silver and bronze

Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson won the British 800m title with Georgia Hunter Bell, but Lilian Odira from Kenya snubbed them in Tokyo.

Hunter Bell edged training partner Hodgkinson to take second place, 0.28 seconds ahead of Odira, who won gold in a championship record time of 54.62 seconds, to set a fairytale new standard for the sport she had quit for five years.

At the conclusion of a season devasted by injury setbacks, Hodgkinson, 23, had aimed for a first world title after winning silver in Paris 2024, but bronze represented a remarkable achievement.

Hunter Bell won the bronze medal at the Olympics in 1:54.90, barely one second more than her training partner and close friend Hodgkinson.

Before the final, Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell had discussed their plans to become the first British athletes to finish with a one-two at the World Championships since Christine Ohuruogu and Nicola Sanders did so in Japan 18 years ago.

The pair trained together, shared a room at the British team’s holding camp, and practiced together in the corridors of the team hotel to fend off the Tokyo heat.

But as they threw themselves across the line, they would end up locked together and would eventually become close allies, almost inseparable.

Although Hodgkinson only wants to be number one once she has established herself as an Olympic champion, this was a bronze medal that, in the context of the event, was more than worth the gold.

Hodgkinson has returned from a 376-day wait to claim her fifth consecutive podium position in front of the world against all odds after enduring a deeply difficult year both physically and emotionally.

Two torn hamstrings kept her out of action until just five weeks before the championships after a knee injury suffered before the Olympic final in August last year set her back over the winter.

She had to travel for eight hours to collect her MBE from Windsor Castle, but the second, a grade three tear to her right hamstring, put her chances of even crossing the finish line in Tokyo in jeopardy.

Before beginning her quest for world glory, the world-leading time she set in her statement comeback just five weeks ago had placed her as the favorite for gold.

Hodgkinson had a trouble observing other people sprint for a while. There have been more tears “than ever before,” in Meadows’ opinion, which is understandable.

However, she took advantage of her lengthy layoffs from the track to resurrect solid foundations in the gym, with her increased strength and power showing up in personal bests lifted. She was given the nickname “Keely 2.0” within her organization.

After announcing her return by setting the fastest time of the year, she was able to celebrate with Hunter Bell as both athletes left with something to show for their efforts, though this wasn’t the endearing result she sought.

More will come later.