Hodgkinson targets fifth European title as Birmingham championships approach
The 24-year-old Briton seeks to reassert dominance following a challenging outdoor season, with gold on home soil described as equally significant to her Paris victory.
Keely Hodgkinson is set to compete for a third consecutive European 800m title at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, aiming to reassert her standing in the event following a demanding outdoor season. The 24-year-old British Olympic champion acknowledges the heightened competition she faces from Swiss runner Audrey Werro and Dutch athlete Femke Broeders-Bol, who has switched from the 400m hurdles.
Hodgkinson’s 2026 campaign has been marked by significant achievements, including breaking the long-standing indoor 800m world record and securing her first world title. She also improved her British outdoor record to 1:53.80 in June. However, her season included a second-place finish to Werro at the Stockholm Diamond League and a withdrawal from the 400m final at the British Championships due to a muscle injury. She also competed with heavily bandaged knees in Eugene following a training fall.
Werro, 22, has emerged as a formidable rival, running the fastest time since the outdoor world record was set 43 years ago and subsequently lowering her personal best to under 1:54. Broeders-Bol clocked 1:55.60 behind Werro in Paris, adding further depth to a field that Hodgkinson describes as the must-watch event of the championships. Despite the challenges, Hodgkinson returned to winning form by beating Broeders-Bol at the London Diamond League last month.
The British athlete has been fine-tuning her preparations in Portugal with her team and expressed confidence in her current form. Hodgkinson stated that winning gold on home soil would be "incredibly special" and hold as much significance to her as her Olympic victory in Paris. She dismissed suggestions that her recent setbacks were failures, emphasising pride in her British record performance in Stockholm.
A gold medal would represent Hodgkinson’s fifth European title overall, extending a streak that began with her first victory in 2021. This would add to her tally of 12 international medals across six seasons. Hodgkinson noted that maintaining this level of consistency over five years is difficult, but she remains focused on controlling her race rather than speculating on her opponents' strategies.
