European Indoor Championships: GB's Keely Hodgkinson aims to seize moment in Istanbul

1 year ago 66

Venue: Atakoy Arena, Istanbul Date: 2-5 March
Coverage: BBC TV, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website & app

The times proceed to get faster. National and satellite records person been reset. But contempt her successes, Keely Hodgkinson's vexation has been wide portion her rivals transverse the decorativeness enactment down her.

"Sometimes I mightiness person looked rather angry," joked the British runner, who turns 21 connected Friday.

"I committedness I wasn't, it's conscionable that this athletics is based connected moments and I hatred to propulsion them away," she told BBC Sport.

"My indoor play truthful acold had been beauteous good, precise consistent, but I person wanted much astatine times."

The Olympic 800m metallic medallist improved her ain British indoor grounds successful Birmingham past week, her latest connection astatine the commencement of a World Championship twelvemonth successful which she has already breached the women's 600m mark.

In Istanbul this weekend, she volition look to support the European rubric which successful 2021 represented her archetypal large golden medal, with unrecorded sum connected BBC TV, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

Since that success, lone American Athing Mu and Kenya's Mary Moraa were capable to contradict Hodgkinson - who won the European outdoor rubric past summertime - full planetary dominance successful lone her 2nd twelvemonth arsenic a nonrecreational athlete.

"You don't cognize however galore chances you're going to get. I acceptable my standards rather precocious and I conscionable get frustrated erstwhile I don't conscionable them," Hodgkinson said.

"It's OK, I'm headed successful the close direction. The astir important happening is what happens successful August."

The in-form Hodgkinson dominated arsenic she claimed her 4th triumph successful arsenic galore races this twelvemonth astatine the World Indoor Tour Final, wherever she entertained the location assemblage by shaving 2 hundredths of a 2nd disconnected her British record.

She is expected to successfully support her European crown wrong the Atakoy Arena and could bash truthful comfortably, having tally astir 3 seconds faster than anyone other successful the field.

Indeed, specified are the standards which she has acceptable for herself, determination is possibly much involvement successful her quality to endanger Jolanda Ceplak's long-standing satellite record.

That grounds clip of 1 infinitesimal 55.82 seconds, coincidentally acceptable connected the precise time Hodgkinson was calved successful 2002, is an agonising 1.36 seconds quicker than the Briton's champion to date.

"I'll beryllium a precise blessed miss if I tin spell and support my title," the Leigh jock said.

"It gave maine a batch of assurance [two years ago] and hopefully it volition beryllium different large year.

"Here, my main precedence is to get to the last arsenic smoothly arsenic imaginable and triumph gold. Whatever comes with that, comes with it."

Coached by Trevor Painter and satellite 800m medallist Jenny Meadows, Hodgkinson has plentifulness of acquisition successful her team.

She says that helps her to negociate the anticipation which accompanies her presumption arsenic 1 of the sport's astir breathtaking young athletes - nevertheless the lone unit she feels is that which she puts connected her ain shoulders.

"I don't truly consciousness [the expectation] from anyone, it's much from myself," she added.

"Every twelvemonth my goals are getting higher, truthful I expect that from myself, conscionable to get better, faster, stronger, each those tiny 1 percents, and it is paying off.

"As agelong arsenic I tin locomotion disconnected the way and accidental I've done my best, I'm happy."

Keely Hodgkinson acceptable different satellite starring clip successful Birmingham past week