Keely Hodgkinson wins Olympic 800m gold for Great Britain at Paris 2024

It had felt a case of when, not if, Hodgkinson would take her place at the pinnacle of the sport ever since she celebrated Olympic silver aged just 19 on her global championship debut in Tokyo.

Denied by Athing Mu on that occasion, and again by the American – by just 0.08 seconds – at the 2022 World Championships, it was Moraa who got the better of Hodgkinson at last year’s Worlds in Budapest to prolong her wait for one of the sport’s major prizes.

She has broken her duck – at last.

The emotion could be seen on Hodgkinson’s face metres from the finish. With victory confirmed, three years of dedication and dreaming came pouring out.

The Briton was favourite for gold given she is the fastest woman in the world this year – running a full second quicker than anyone else – and her chances of victory were further increased by Mu’s absence.

A fall at the US trials cost the Olympic champion the chance to defend her crown and it was world champion Moraa who looked to provide the main obstacle to gold in Paris.

But this time the Briton would not be denied.

Hodgkinson took charge of the race after 300m, led at the bell, and from there she refused to be moved – even when Moraa attempted to pull alongside her.

After a final surge for gold she glanced up at the big screen to confirm nobody had followed, her breakthrough success sealed with a roar of triumph and relief.

“To do it here, where better? The audience was incredible. It felt like a home crowd to me, so yes I am super, super happy,” Hodgkinson said.

“It could have been ran in any way. I wanted to be up near the front, probably quicker than I was at the bell.

“I just wanted to save a bit for the last 100m. I trusted in myself. I could feel Mary [Moraa] pushing me on the back straight but [I had the] composure and we got to the line first this time.”

It is still early in her career, but Hodgkinson is hungry to establish herself as one of the greatest British athletes of all time.

And – now she has the world-beating gold she so desperately desired – it is difficult not to get excited about where she will go from here.