Keely Hodgkinson knows that she will never experience the lack of pressure she enjoyed at her maiden Olympics but is embracing the favourites' tag in Paris this summer.
The middle-distance star announced herself to the world in Tokyo three years ago, taking silver over 800m and breaking Dame Kelly Holmes’ British record while still just a teenager.
Although it was not a total shock, Hodgkinson admits that in 2024 she finds herself in a very different situation, having followed up that with two more silvers on the world stage in each of the last two summers.
She heads to Paris ranked number one in the world and now with expectation that she can clinch a first gold at global level.
Hodgkinson said: “I feel like this is going to be my proper Olympic experience. Last time with Covid, they did an amazing job putting it on. But now, with the crowd, I think it’s going to be a proper experience, so I’m really excited.
“It really did change my life. The Olympics is something that resonates with the majority of the public, so it’s just really special to perform well there.
“It’s a different pressure this time. I was very upcoming, that position I was in, I’ll never have that again. The freedom of being there for the experience and it didn’t really matter what I did. I knew what I could do.
“Now, we’re three years later, I think I’m a better athlete than I was then but now there is that expectation. I’ve medalled every year now so it’s a case of can we do it again? Can we go one better?”
Hodgkinson is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – this is vital for his pathway to the Paris 2024 Games.
In many ways, it appears that Hodgkinson’s progress since Tokyo has been almost all highs, settling for the odd silver medal rather than gold, notwithstanding.
But the 22-year-old admits that the aftermath of her Olympic debut was not easy and took a while to come to terms with.
She added: “I’ve shown how mentally strong I can be. After Tokyo, the Olympic comedown is a real thing. That was quite tough, being so young and having so many aspects of my life change. I didn’t go to university anymore, I went full-time pro. I moved out, got my own place, all these changes you go through anyway.
“And then you think I’ve got to do what I did last year again, for a whole year, finding that motivation. I now know this time around that I’ll be better equipped to handle that. I also want to enjoy it, I’m back to really enjoying it again. If I get to that final and give it my all, I’ll be happy.
“After Tokyo, there was no pressure on me. The only thing I didn’t want was to be a one hit wonder, who just got it right then.
“I wanted to prove not just to myself but to everyone else that I could be a multiple medallist. Here we are, three years later, with a lot more medals so it’s good fun!”
Sportsbeat 2024