Keely Hodgkinson ready to fight for World gold and turn dream into reality
Keely Hodgkinson has dreamt of becoming 800 metres world champion and is ready to go out and fight for it in Budapest today.
The Wigan warrior has had to wait until the final day for her shot at redemption after being pipped on the line in Eugene a year ago.
“I don’t like hanging around all week and they have really dragged it out this year,” she said. “I’ve definitely dreamt about it a lot over the past year. It’s going to be a battle.”
Up against Britain’s European champion is Athing Mu, the holder and Olympic gold medallist, and Mary Moraa, who beat Hodgkinson to the Commonwealth crown in Birmingham last summer.
She cannot disregard team mate Jemma Reekie either, given the way the Scot weaved her way out of trouble to impressively win her semi-final.
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Hodgkinson, coached by Trevor Painter and his wife, former world 800m medallist Jenny Meadows, said: “I have worked really hard all year and I know what shape I am in.
Hot in the heats: Hodgkinson needed a fan to cool down after an earlier round (Getty Images)“I don’t know how the race is going to go. That’s the only thing I cannot control. I can only control what I do. So I will block out everyone else, everything else, focus on my thing and see what we come away with.”
Britain has two gold medals already banked, through heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson and 1500m star Josh Kerr. Neither was the favourite Hodgkinson is.
She boasts the year’s fastest time (1:55.77) by more than a second and despite being only 21 has two years at the top under her belt.
That's three: Noah Lyles adds relay gold to his individual 100 and 200m titles (Sven Hoppe/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)“I am in a great headspace to come and attack it from every angle,” she said. “I am just going to do what I know I do best - go out and run and completely trust myself.”
Noah Lyles was backed to break Usain Bolt’s world record as he pointedly reminded US sport what it is to actually be a global champion.
The American showman is the first male since Bolt to win the World sprint double - last night adding the men's 4 x 100m relay gold for good measure - leading his coach Lance Brauman to say: “I think the world record is something he can definitely do.”
The original showman: Usain Bolt wins World 100m gold in Moscow in 2013 as lightning strikes overhead (Getty)Brauman concedes bettering either of Bolt’s 9.58secs (100) and 19.19 (200) marks requires the perfect environment.
“This is an enclosed stadium, it is pretty damn hot here,” he said. “You aren’t getting any wind assistance on the bends or straight.
“Can he do it? Does he have that kind of ability? I sure think so. You need to have goals in life and that’s his goal - to get that record.”
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Lyles anchors USA to 4 x 100m relay glory with Eugene Amo-Dadzie fourth for Britain (AP)Lyles, like Bolt before him, seeks to “transcend the sport…move past just being track famous”. He is frustrated not to be there yet.
"The thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have world champion on their heads. World champion of what?” he asked.
“I love the US, at times, but that ain't the world! We are the world. We have almost every country out here fighting.”
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