Keely on Keely: Keely Hodgkinson In her own words (and those of her coach, Trevor Painter) *

Keely Hodgkinson had a great victory in the Women’s 800 meters, taking gold in a fantastic race! 

Keely Hodgkinson In her own words (and those of her coach, Trevor Painter)*

Keely on Keely

1. Are you enjoying the celebrity aspect of your life – Fashion shoots, etc?

Keely Hodgkinson:  It’s been really fun. I’ve enjoyed being in a different space. I’ve always loved to explore the opportunities the track brings me away from training and away from the track. It’s just good to see athletics in that limelight, in a different field, and it looks great.

2. Pressure – how are you dealing with it?

Keely Hodgkinson: 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 at the London Diamond League 2024 was great and fills me with confidence. But I’ve still got two more weeks to go and the rounds to navigate before  Paris. 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.

3. Three silvers – did that drive you on through winter?

Keely Hodgkinson: I think you can see it in my performances. When I stepped out in Eugene I was really determined to get the win there. That was a good opportunity to see where we were at and it went really well. Going into London I just wanted to give it my all. To knock 0.7 off my national record is just so great. The way I ran it as well, leading the whole way, I think there could be more in there. It depends how it goes. It shows how much work I’ve put in and how much I want it.

4. Talk about your winter South African training camp, injury and illness?

Keely Hodgkinson: A lot of this year has been about perseverance. It’s not gone smoothly when I think about it. I’ve had a lot of challenges personally on the track and off it. To see it all come together like in the last 10 days [London DL etc] has been very satisfying. I’ve just worked hard, kept my head down and 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. Missing indoors was a blessing in disguise, allowing me to put together solid back to back weeks, and we’re seeing those results now.

5. What do you take from previous experience of having to go through the rounds in championships?

Keely Hodgkinson: It’s been different every championship. The timetable is different every year. Last year was quite draining because there was a rest day between each round. I think this year Paris will suit me a bit better, having to do the semis and final back to back, and it doesn’t drag it out as much. It’s really mentally draining having to spread it out over the week. Like you say, it’s about taking it day by day and having distractions to have your mind rest sometimes and be ready to go when it really matters.

6. What would you say to Keely of 2021?

Keely Hodgkinson: That’s a deep question. I wouldn’t believe I’m in this position now, even being 19 and doing what I did then. I’m still kind of the same person – just wanting to do my best, training really hard and seeing how fast I can really go. I wouldn’t say much, just keep doing what I’m doing really. It’s worked out so far.

7. What’s biggest lesson you’ve learnt in three years?

Keely Hodgkinson: It’s trusting the process and the team. It’s easy to get carried away with comparison and wondering what other people are doing. From what I’ve done, every year I’ve trusted Trevor and we’ve ended up in the right place at the right time. I’m stronger and faster each year. I’m really grateful for that. Long may it continue.

8. More weapons at your disposal?

Keely Hodgkinson: From the London race you can see we’re pushing it to new heights. Even Jemma Reekie, breaking the 56 barrier. That’s incredible. We can go on to do amazing things. Let’s see.

9. New spikes – much better?

Keely Hodgkinson: We did a lot of talking and innovation with the Nike team in Oregon over the past two years. ‘Why don’t you wear the Victorys?’ Well, because they’re not very good. The old ones weren’t as stable, the material at the top my foot moved around a lot. They had a lot of the same feedback. It was really cool to be involved in those conversations with the creative people behind the scenes making the shoes and how they want to really benefit the athletes. So I put the new ones on and felt they were great. They were lightweight, secure, fast and so I wear them all the time now.

2 Coach Trevor Painter on Keely

1. What’s changed?

Trevor Painter: She has changed quite a lot. Going into Tokyo she was unknown and she wasn’t on many people’s radars but we knew where she was. Even Team GB weren’t expecting much from her, and I wasn’t meant to be travelling to Tokyo with her. I was arguing she was 19 and had a chance of medal, but come the start line she was ranked No 4 in the world and had done some sensational sessions in the holding camp. The rest is history.

2.Her fun side

Trevor Painter: She has been winding one of her training partners up. He bought two bars of chocolate and she replaced the chocolate from inside, replaced it with a load of raisins, and then glued it back together. He’s gone off to his room blissfully unaware that the chocolate is not there and we are waiting for him to find it. That’s the old Keely. You’re just having a laugh and a joke and she’s playful. We’re starting to see it again and we’re seeing the old Keely again.

3.Lateness

Trevor Painter: We have a saying that 15 mins is okay. Sometimes it’s 20 to 25 and she just strolls in smiling, ‘whatever’. It’s something I’m not too bothered about because Keely is a free spirit. If we contain her, put her in a box and tell her you’ve got to conform to this and want you to be like that, she’ll not be the person we saw run 1.54 in London. That kind of free-spirited nature makes her who she is.

4. Injuries this winter

Trevor Painter: There was never a concern over Paris. We thought we might even make the indoors, but then said there’s no point rushing and we can spend more time building. The doctors are always quite concerned whereas coaches and athletes want to push the boundaries and get back a little quicker, but there was never any point with this because Paris was far more important. Two more weeks she would have been in Glasgow (World Indoors).

5. What will be your last words before the Olympic final?

Trevor Painter: There’s never a hairdryer** moment. It’s just about keeping things simple and the same. It’s another 800m, she has raced all these girls before. Mary Moraa is the big question mark because she’s not been seen for seven weeks so that raises eyebrows. You like to track rivals but Mary has disappeared since trials. Keely is ready to run however it pans out, if it’s fast or not.

6. How much has Keely changed you as a coach?

Trevor Painter: I feel it’s important to stay the same. I’ve always been a bit crazy and we try and set a good environment around them. So I’m always joking and having a laugh with them and, playing jokes.

It’s not really changed that much. It gives you confidence that what you’re doing is good because when Jenny [Meadows, Trevor’s wife and former 800 athlete] was around I was a good coach and then when she retired I was suddenly no good. And then Keely has come along and ‘Oh, you’re a good coach again’. It doesn’t change. You’re still the same person, it’s just who you’re working with.

7. How much more attention has Keely brought to your group and has that been difficult to manage?

Trevor Painter: It’s grown massively. With Keely’s success in Tokyo we’ve had other people come along. The Irish 1500m runner Sarah Healy was the first one and she ran sub four for the first time last year in Budapest. Then here’s Georgia Bell, who came back on the scene and has started to work with us again. We’ve also got a Danish Girl at the moment, a girl from Italy, people from all over the place and a girl from Poland talking to us wanting to join the group. Because of Keely’s success and then the other successes in the group, it’s starting to get really high profile. We’ve had to give ourselves a name. We’ve called ourselves M11 Track Club, which is the postcode of Sportcity stadium in Manchester. We’re pretty much based there most of the time when we’re in the UK and we’re trying to make it a bit more professional.

8. She is still very young. How much more potential do you think she has?

(World record currently 1:53.28 from Kratochvilova in 1983)

Trevor Painter: When she ran the 1:54 in London, I jokingly said to her Dad: ‘You know, she’s only going to peak between 27 and 31 years old’. My philosophy is that we start with speed and we’re working more like a 400m runner at the moment – we’re not doing anywhere near as much mileage as some people. But that will filter in once she gets to like 24. If we can keep the speed and develop the aerobic side as well, that’s when we’ll go really quick. With shoe technologies developing the way they are, she already thinks she can run 1:53, which is fabulous to have that belief and I believe she can. Before she retires, she’ll run 1:53 – whether she gets the record we’ll see but we’ll give it a go.

9. How do the conversations with Nike around the spikes work?

Trevor Painter: They’ve got a great team and when we go to Prefontaine we always go a day earlier and we sit with them and they show us all these product innovations they’ve go. They have a lot of discussions with us about ‘we’re thinking about this. What do you feel about that? What do you think about the upper of this shoe and the feel of the sole on this one?’

Keely just helps, by saying: ‘I like this or no, I don’t like that – that’s horrible’.

There were some shoes she was wearing that were a bit flimsy when he was running on the bend. If you ran at high speed on the bend your foot just didn’t feel supported. So they’ve got to grips with that and the new victory shoe that she races in, she just loves it to bits. They’ve developed it really well.

We have seen some prototypes of what’s coming up soon and they’re like something from Back to the Future. They are a bit weird, but they’ll probably set the word alight when they come out in the next few years.

It’s really a good relationship to have because without this progression in the technology you wouldn’t see the times that we’re getting. I do feel sorry for the athletes that have gone in the past because that didn’t have those shoes. You know, what could they have actually done if they had them as well?

It’s an exciting time the sport and there’s a lot of ingenuity going into the way the tracks are laid because it helps you. On some tracks where you wouldn’t go anywhere near as quick if you went in the wrong direction because it’s set up to propel you. Everything’s designed to help the athletes run faster so it good to welcome that sort technology in.

 Notes

* Based on British Athletics media opportunities with Keely and Trevor in July 2024

** Alex Ferguson legendary Manchester United head coach was famous for getting up close to a player and shouting, something that became known as the hairdryer. Trevor is based in Manchester.