- The 22-year-old became the Olympic 800m champion after a dominant performance.
- Keely Hodgkinson was visibly emotional as she received her gold medal in Paris
- Touching scenes saw Hodgkinson burst into tears on the podium.
Keely Hodgkinson was reduced to tears as she received her Olympic 800m gold medal in emotional scenes at the Stade de France on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old produced a dominant performance in Paris to end her wait for a first world title by claiming gold, beating Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma and Kenyan runner Mary Moraa.
The victory made Hodgkinson only the 10th British woman to win an Olympic athletics gold medal, and the first since Jessica Ennis-Hill in 2012, and the medal ceremony gave her a chance to celebrate the sensational success.
The moment she had been waiting for finally arrived after a night of Olympic partying with friends and family, and Hodgkinson cried tears of joy when she was presented with the gold medal.
Hodgkinson kept his composure as World Athletics president Sebastian Coe handed him the gong and then burst into tears as the British national anthem was played in a moving moment of recognition.
Keely Hodgkinson couldn’t hold back her tears as she received her Olympic gold medal in the 800m
The 22-year-old produced a dominant performance in Paris to end her wait for a first world title.
Hodgkinson cried tears of joy when he was presented with the gold medal at the Stade de France.
Getting to this point has been a long and emotional process for British athletics’ new golden girl, who as a teenager faced a battle with a tumour that left her partially deaf in one ear.
She was later forced to limit her training schedule in the following years after the operation to remove the tumor was successful and faced a great test as a young woman to continue pursuing her dream.
Hodgkinson’s inspirational Olympic gold puts her in esteemed company, with the world number one emulating the achievements of Kelly Holmes in 2004 and Ann Packer in 1964.
The Atherton-born superstar has been one of Team GB’s closest competitors at the Games, with fans flocking to the track to watch the rising star in action.
Such is his growing status in the sporting world that Coe told Hodgkinson “that’s the most popular gold medal we’ve had so far” when presenting him with the award on Tuesday night.
Hodgkinson put in a spectacular performance to live up to his status as the pre-race favourite.
There were also smiles through the tears as Hodgkinson posed with silver medallist Tsige Duguma (left) and bronze winner Mary Moraa (right).
Speaking after his emotional celebrations in Paris, Hodgkinson summed up his feelings, telling the BBC: ‘(Coaches) Jenny (Meadows) and Trevor (Painter) were there so to share this with so many people was great.
‘I’ve waited a long time to hear the national anthem on a world podium, I did it at the Europeans which was amazing, but to have it here really meant a lot and I think that showed.
“I slept for about 90 minutes, when I fall asleep I’ll collapse. I spoke to a lot of different people this morning and it’s been great to tell my story there and hopefully bring people into athletics. It’s been a lot of fun.
“There is no nice place to keep the medal at the moment. Give me a couple of months to find a really nice and suitable place. I’m looking forward to sharing it with people,” he added.
