Don't stop believing, Ennis-Hill tells Hodgkinson after another silver medal

27 August 2023 , 22:29

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Mary Moraa jumps for joy as she crosses finish line ahead of Hodgkinson (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Jess Ennis-Hill urged Keely Hodgkinson to keep the faith after Britain’s golden girl was made to settle for silver yet again.

For a third successive global final the Wigan warrior scented glory only to finish second best. As she crossed the line there were neither tears nor real celebration, more a look of bewilderment that it had happened to her once more.

“I wanted to come here to get gold,” said Hodgkinson. “Three silvers now surely means that one point I’m going to get gold - that it’s a matter of when not how.”

Her talent demands that yet there will be days of frustration to come that she is still having this conversation with herself.

In Budapest, as at last year’s Worlds in Eugene and the Olympics the summer before, she had put herself in position but not closed the deal. This time, although she held off Athing Mu, her conqueror in Tokyo and Eugene, Mary Moraa proved too strong.

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Ennis-Hill, who knows a bit about dealing with a nation’s expectation, said: “I’m happy for her but so gutted at the same time.

Don't stop believing, Ennis-Hill tells Hodgkinson after another silver medal

Hodgkinson with her silver medal (above) as Jess Ennis-Hill (below) urged her to keep believing (AP)

(Ian Stephen/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock)

“She’s had that silver feeling for a while now. It’s one more year where she could really have got a gold. It wasn’t meant to be again.

“Keely sets the bar so high for herself," the former Olympic champion told the BBC. "She’s not an athlete that comes out and just wants to make finals, she wants to win medals. She wants to win gold medals and she’s been very clear about that.

“She has huge potential and she’s absolutely got it within her. She has to believe that maybe it’s a few silvers before that big gold and maybe that big gold will come [at the Olympics] next year.”

Deja vu for Hodgkinson as Moraa punches air after taking World gold in last night's 800m final (Szilard Koszticsak/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Moraa’s winning time of 1:56.03 gave her a 0.31secs cushion over the Briton, who had missed out on world gold 12 months before by just 0.08. Mu was third with Jemma Reekie fifth in 1:57.72.

"The one thing I didn't want to happen was to be out of the medals," Hodgkinson added. "Because I'm trying to keep a streak going where I pick up medals.

"But going towards gold there's little tiny one per cents you've got to keep striving towards. I'll keep going."

GB bronze medallists Amber Anning, Laviai Nielsen, Ama Pipi and Nicole Yeargin (top), Lewis Davey, Rio Mitcham, Alex Haydock-Wilson and Charlie Dobson (PA)

With Britain’s 4 x 400m relay teams delivering bronze it took the medal total for these champs to 10, equalling the record set in Stuttgart when Sally Gunnell, Linford Christie and Colin Jackson ruled the roost.

Only eight months ago UK Athletics revealed a £1.8 million loss and there was talk of the governing body going bust.

UKA shut their head office and cut their workforce, needed a handout from UK Sport and picked a slimmed-down squad for these championships.

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Morgan Lake cleared 1.97m to take fourth place in the women's high jump (PA)

A double-digit medal haul raises morale significantly and chief executive Jack Buckner insists the picture is now a lot brighter.

“A lot has changed,” he said. “I have taken over £1.8m of cost out. A third of the organisation has left, sadly, outside of performance.

“We have rolled up our sleeves, done the hard things. We have grafted, fought every step of the way. We are sort of leaner and tougher and we have a financial plan.