Keely Hodgkinson clinches 800m GOLD

Keely Hodgkinson has secured a spectacular win in the women’s 800m to take home a gold medal and go one better than her silver in Tokyo three years ago.

The Team GB star lived up to her favourite tag in nerveless fashion to beat a strong field in Paris tonight which included world champion Mary Moraa, from Kenya.

Hodgkinson arrived at the Paris Games with high hopes, ranked number one in the world, and cruised through the heats and semi-finals with consummate ease.

And she thrived under the pressure at a raucous Stade de France to run a fantastic time of 1 minute 56.72 seconds and now the 22-year-old can soak in the glory of being an Olympic champion.

Hodgkinson waited patiently for one of her other rivals to make an early move and set the pace and Ethiopia‘s Tsige Duguma duly obliged.

Keely Hodgkinson has secured a spectacular win in the women’s 800m to take home a gold medal

The Team GB star lived up to her favourite tag in nerveless fashion to beat a strong field

She put on an assured display to cruise past world champion Mary Moraa, from Kenya

It was all part of the Brit’s plan, however, and Hodgkinson stayed on the shoulder of her competitor – ready to pounce.

And she did so just seconds later, assuming the leading position three-quarters of the way through the first lap and she never looked back.

As the halfway bell rang, the field of world-class athletes furiously picked up the pace in a last-gasp bid to grab an Olympic podium spot.

In particular, Hodgkinson had to fight off a strong performance from Moraa which saw her practically neck and neck with the Brit at times during the second half of the race.

But the Team GB poster girl effortlessly picked up the pace and cantered clear of the field to cruise over the line. 

As the importance of what she had just done sank in, Hodgkinson let out a roar and took photos with loved ones to kick off what is set to be a long night of celebration.

And she almost topped her winning run with a memorable performance ringing the Olympic bell – her effort in the new post-event feature as strong as anybody else’s throughout this Games.

Duguma eventually overtook a flagging Moraa to claim silver with a personal best time of 1min 57.15secs.

Hodgkinson waited patiently for one of her other rivals to make an early move and set the pace

It was all part of the Brit’s plan, however, and Hodgkinson stayed on the shoulder of her competitor – ready to pounce

And she did so just seconds later, assuming the leading position three-quarters of the way through the first lap and she never looked back

The Team GB poster girl then effortlessly picked up the pace and cantered clear of the field to cruise over the line

Hodgkinson displayed her emotions as the importance of her feat tonight sank in

The world champion meanwhile clung onto bronze after running the distance in 1min 57.42secs.

Hodgkinson’s route to Olympic gold resembled a procession at times and her win tonight comes after comfortable displays in the earlier rounds. 

Her semi-final, in particular, was reminiscent of a training run with the Brit seemingly jogging over the line, several metres ahead of the competition, after she took an early lead. 

The vast favourite still posted an impressive time of one minute 56.86 seconds – the fastest of the Games so far.

Shortly after her semi-final, she told the BBC: ‘You can’t take any chances and it gave me good practice for tomorrow as well but I just wanted to be safe in qualifying. 

‘Job done. We’re in the final now, mission is on.

‘I’ve said it all year, I really want to upgrade my silver. 

‘I think I am in the best shape physically, mentally and emotionally to do that that I have been ever.

As the importance of what she had just done sank in, Hodgkinson let out a roar and took photos with loved ones

‘I just hope that I can really put that together tomorrow and let’s see what we can do.’

Paula Radcliffe, former women’s marathon world record holder, said she thought Hodgkinson had ‘another gear’. 

And she proved it at the Stade de France tonight before producing a beaming smile as she was handed her gold medal.