Keely Hodgkinson bounces back from 's***show' with five-figure payday and diamond tiara

Not long after branding her 2025 campaign a "s***show", Keely Hodgkinson was handed a $25,000 (£18,721) diamond tiara and recognised as the queen of the 800 metres. In 2024, Hodgkinson became one of Team GB's biggest stars when she won the country's first gold athletics medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Greater Manchester runner won the 800m in the French capital, which also saw her become the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Regrettably, this season has been a difficult one. Three hamstring injuries forced her into a gruelling 376-day absence from competition, whilst she endured a disappointing bronze medal finish at the World Championships in Tokyo. At the star-studded, women-only Athlos New York City athletics meeting, she clocked the quickest 800m of the evening with a stunning time of 1m56.53.

Tennis legend Serena Williams, whose husband and Redditco-founder Alexis Ohanian created the event, handed the spectacular prize to Hodgkinson. Perhaps most satisfyingly for the Brit, she also exacted revenge against Kenyan sensation Lilian Odira.

At last month's World Championship in Japan, Hodgkinson appeared destined to mark her athletics comeback with victory. Nevertheless, the world No. 17 overtook her on the final straight to stun the sporting universe, whilst Georgia Hunter Bell also surged past to claim silver.

Hodgkinson managed to defeat both rivals to secure the tiara alongside a cheque for $60,000 (£44,931). After securing her victory, Hodgkinson said: "I've barely raced this season. So it was probably less of a struggle for me to go out there and want to give it something. The atmosphere out there is crazy so it was really, really fun."

The star-studded event also featured a performance from platinum-selling pop sensation Ciara, with the first round of the long jump event taking place in the heart of Times Square. Had Hodgkinson achieved a new world record, she would have pocketed a bonus prize of $250,000 (£187,213).

Given the challenges and limited races she has had this season, making history would likely have been a secondary thought. In a recent interview with the Guardian, Hodgkinson made it clear she is eager to bid farewell to the 2025 campaign. She said: "It's been an absolute s***show, honestly.

"I definitely do feel a little under-raced. Two races is probably not enough, especially after so long out. I felt really bad in the semis but looking back, I think my stomach was playing up a little bit. It's nothing that if I was in everyday life would affect you. But I guess when you're trying to run at that level."

Reflecting on her defeat in the World Championship at the time, Hodgkinson confessed she was physically struggling with the race. She added: "I thought I had it.

"I didn't sense the other Kenyan coming on the outside. But there wasn't really much more I could do. I left it all out there. In the last five metres, my legs were falling off."