Keely Hodgkinson was on the foothills of glory. At her own event, named aptly the Keely Klassic, she had the chance to make history. But fate had other plans. Instead of breaking a 23-year-old record, Keely had to pull out of the competition at the last moment. And the reason for that? A sudden injury. But while her withdrawal has sparked quite a few debates and discussions online, the middle-distance runner has made a statement regarding her injury.

Not only this, she is already thinking about what’s next for her. While talking to the Citius Mag, the Olympic 800m champion shared her thoughts about putting together the event without her as a participant. Keely Hodgkinson said about the modern track She rightly said, “I think the content we’ve put out as a brand for the Keely Classic has been very good. So, I think that’s contributed.” 

Hodgkinson further added, “When I say modernizing the sport, I just think the world has really moved along in the last couple of years.” As the champion expressed, the power of social media to modernize the track or any other sport. She explained with an example. “There are so many great personalities in track right now who are doing amazing things for themselves—they just need the platform and the meets to put out there,” Keely Hodgkinson explained.

Clearly, Hodgkinson’s comment proves the increasing importance of leading athletes such as Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson, who have used social media and major events to highlight the visibility of track and field. With farsighted investors in athlete-produced digital media, the sport is currently benefiting from the increasing fan bonding and financial allure.

But despite her zeal to catapult track and field to new echelons, one cannot ignore the fact that Keely is heartbroken over her injury. After all, she was just one race away from breaking a monumental record. But despite this, she continued to accept the terms of her injuries. But the injury is quite severe, as revealed by the star.

Keely Hodgkinson has her plans set for the future

Keely suffered a hamstring injury as part of her preparations for the Keely Klassic. Just when her final sessions were going on, she got a hamstring tear, which was categorized as a Grade-C tear. With this, her dream to surpass Jolanda Ceplak’s 800-meter indoor world record was also shattered. As such, Jolanda’s 1 minute, 55.82 seconds in indoor 800m, which she set in 2002, still stands. But she couldn’t even participate due to her hamstring injury.

Keely broke the news of her injury in the late hours of 13th Feb when she posted an Instagram post. The post highlighted her pulling out of her namesake event as well as the reason for her injuries. Yet while she didn’t perform, she went to cheer her fellow athletes. But nothing can stop an athlete from the love of their life. Track for Keely Hodgkinson, and

she has already cleared the air about her plans.

Keely Hodgkinson isn’t dwelling on missed opportunities—she’s already focused on what’s next. Despite the setback, the British star has her sights set on the future, ready to come back stronger. Hodgkinson stated, “It’s really sad to not be able to put this together. I’m still young and I will hopefully have many more indoors to give it a go. I’ve had my eye on this record for some years now and I’ll hopefully come back and give it a go.” With major competitions ahead, Hodgkinson remains determined to chase her ultimate goals.

The Olympic gold medalist, who acknowledged that she was completely devastated by her diagnosis, would now have to wait until a later date to try to smash the world record for the women’s indoor 800m. The 22-year-old might be ready for the international competition, which begins on March 21, but she won’t be well enough to qualify by the March 9 deadline. The World Indoor Championships is scheduled to be held in Nanjing, China, from March 21–23. Let’s hope she recovers soon and gets back on track.