Keely Hodgkinson has admitted to experiencing depression after winning an unexpected silver medal in the 800 metres at the Tokyo Olympics.
Hodgkinson, who is one of Team GB’s best athletics gold medal hopes This summer, I was only 19 years old when She ran to second place behind American Athing Mu and said she sought psychological help after the Games.
She says enjoying everyday things, like learning to play the piano and spending time with her family, became important to dealing with her bad mood.
Talking about the High Performance PodcastShe said: “I would actually say I went through a period of depression at one point. I didn’t realise how much Olympic depression was a really big deal.”
“I was 19 and I was very excited, because I dreamed of winning an Olympic medal. Did I think it was going to happen at 19? Absolutely not. It just happened.”
“It was almost like the other things that used to make me feel good, whether it was hanging out with my friends or this or that, I didn’t like as much anymore. And I was always feeling depressed and sad, so it was like a struggle.”
Hodgkinson, who has since won three European titles and two World Championship silver medals, admitted she also found it difficult to understand why she was feeling depressed.
“You end up thinking, ‘My life is wonderful, why do I have to feel sad?’” she said. “But I just couldn’t feel any kind of satisfaction with anything else. I was just focusing on the little things, spending time with family and really appreciating time with them and being home, and then I finally got it done.
“It was just about finding pleasure in the little things again and living them day by day. Whether it was literally getting out of bed and making the bed in the morning, it was like progress.
“I couldn’t think too far ahead. The following year we had three championships to compete in one summer: the World Championships, the Commonwealth Championships and the European Championships. I still have no idea how I got through it, because it was so many races. It was literally one day at a time, finding little hobbies that I enjoyed. Now I’m learning to play the piano as something nice and calming.
“I wanted to feel that going to training was not a chore. It was a pleasure… and little by little we worked on that. I don’t have much patience, but I think patience was an important factor that we took into account.”