Keely Hodgkinson’s stern warning against dismissing Olympic underdogs should come as no surprise given she authored a quintessential cautionary tale three summers ago in Tokyo .
It it was the Wigan runner, then 19, who stormed to silver – and into the British consciousness – in 1:55.88, smashing Kelly Holmes’ 26-year-old 800m national record in the process.
The 22-year-old is now the favourite to win gold in Paris , while 17-year-old Briton Phoebe Gill is a frequent bookmaker’s pick for bronze, with team-mate Jemma Reekie also predicted to at least repeat her fourth-place Tokyo finish.
But Hodgkinson, whose competition gets underway on August 2nd, said: “Anything can happen. Don’t just focus on the medallists. Some people ranked lower down can come and surprise you. That’s the beauty of athletics.
“It really is about can you perform on the day. There are a lot of exciting things to watch for British athletics. It’ll be one of our best champs.
“We’ve some of the most talented and mentally driven athletes that we’ve seen in a long time. There are so many medal hopes out there, finalists.”
The Manchester United supporter – Hodgkinson was gifted a good luck shirt signed by the Red Devils before her Olympic send-off – lowered her British record to 1:54.61 at last Saturday’s London Athletics Meet, making her the sixth-fastest woman in history at 800m.
She has claimed silver at back-to-back world championships, and collected the same colour at the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
In June, the already-considerable chorus prognosticating a Hodgkinson Paris triumph grew louder after it emerged her main rival, defending Olympic champion Athing Mu, had not made the American team after falling at the US trials.
Three years ago, a viral video shared by Gary Lineker on what was then Twitter appeared to show Hodgkinson, as shocked and delighted as anyone watching back home in Britain, exclaim “what the f**k?” after her winning her first Olympic medal.
Hodgkinson is well aware this time around there are high expectations of a podium finish – and a golden one at that – the tables since Tokyo having turned her into one of Great Britain’s best hopes to produce a champion in Paris.
She said: “I’m not going to say it doesn’t go through my head or anything like that but it does kind of help to forget about it.
“What happened last weekend was great and fills me with confidence, but I’ve still got (time before my competition) and the rounds to navigate. There is pressure there. For me I’ll just go back to basics, take it race by race and get the job done each round and go from there.
“To see it all come together like in the last 10 days has been very satisfying. I’ve just worked hard, kept my head down, even when I was injured and out for a while, it felt like one thing after another.
“In those times you just have to be consistent, keep going and that’s how I’ve got where I am.
“Although there have been many silvers, I’m grateful to be in the conversation to be one of the best in the world and be in that line up for the podium.
“It shows it doesn’t always go the way that you want. I’m just hoping this year I’ve done enough and it all comes together nicely.”
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