Keely Hodgkinson reveals a serious impact Mary Moraa has made on her road to Paris 2024 Olympics
Keely Hodgkinson discusses lessons from her loss to Mary Moraa as he aims for gold at the Paris Olympics.
Olympic and world 800m silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson is gearing up for the Paris Olympics with a resolute focus on clinching the gold.
At just 22, she has already made significant strides in her athletic career, breaking records and overcoming challenges.
But as she prepares for the upcoming games, Hodgkinson reflects on a particularly tough race that has fueled her drive for victory.
“If you want to watch a bad race, watch Lausanne,” Hodgkinson says in an interview with the Telegraph, recalling the June competition where she found herself boxed in and then out-thought and out-paced by Kenyan Mary Moraa in the 800m. Hodgkinson’s journey has been marked by impressive accomplishments, including a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics at the age of 19 with a personal best of 1:55.88.
More recently, she broke her own 800m record in front of 60,000 fans at the London Stadium leg of the Diamond League, becoming the sixth-fastest woman in history.
Despite these successes, Hodgkinson admits that post-Tokyo, she faced emotional challenges.
Running approximately 35 miles each week, Hodgkinson focuses on building power and muscle strength, training more like a sprinter. Gym sessions, swimming, and cross-training have been crucial in enhancing her endurance and performance.
“I spend a lot of time on a cross-trainer,” she notes. “If I was to factor that in, my running mileage would go up.”
Preparation for a race, for Hodgkinson, resembles getting ready for a night out.
“The process starts two hours beforehand – I just enjoy it,” she explains.
Her routine includes a shower, fake tan, music, and doing her hair and make-up. “There’s nothing really to do on race day, especially if I’m racing at 10pm.” Visualizing different race scenarios with her coach Painter is another key aspect of her preparation.
“Let others dictate your race and that’s when silly mistakes happen; panic after getting boxed in and you can bolt too early,” she cautions.
Reflecting on the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hodgkinson recalls hitting a lactic wall with 300m to go.
“The pack was so fast through the first lap. It really made us all hurt. We’d never done it that fast before.” On that occasion, it was her main rival, Athing Mu, who set the pace with Hodgkinson finishing as runner-up.
Despite the camaraderie with her fellow athletes during training camps, Hodgkinson remains competitive.
