World Athletics Championships: Keely Hodgkinson claims 800m silver narrowly behind champion Athing Mu

ByMichael Hincks

Updated 25/07/2022 at 07:49 GMT

Keely Hodgkinson went toe-to-toe with Athing Mu down the last straight of the 800m final at the World Championships in Eugene, and narrowly finished 0.08 seconds behind the American to take home silver. Hodgkinson is already looking forward to renewing the rivalry at Budapest 2023, while GB ended the Championships with seven medals after the women’s 4x400m quartet won bronze.

Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson narrowly lost out in a tight battle with Olympic champion Athing Mu but was still able to take home silver in the 800m.

Hodgkinson and Mu, both 20, were toe-to-toe at the World Championships in Eugene, with the American finishing with a time of 1:56.30, just 0.08 seconds ahead of the Brit – who admitted she was a “bit gutted”.

"I gave it everything right up to the line," Hodgkinson told BBC afterwards.

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"A world silver is not too bad. It adds fuel to the fire. I will go away and I still have more championships to come so will have to refocus for that.

"I'm gunning for a bit more so I am looking forward to next year."

Hodgkinson is turning her focus to the next World Championships in Budapest next year, the precursor for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

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Athing Mu of Team United States and Keely Hodgkinson of Team Great Britain cross the finish line

Image credit: Getty Images

"I've closed the gap, I'm getting closer," Hodgkinson said.

"I've got a lot of respect for these athletes, particularly Athing. She's competing in front of a home crowd as Olympic champion, so there was a lot of pressure for a 20-year-old."

Meanwhile, Mu added: "I'm just glad I made it to the line to finish the race, and thankfully I won gold. I just physically wasn't where I would like to be."

Bronze for GB in 4x400m

Hodgkinson secured GB’s first silver of the event, and while Jake Wightman's 1500m title will go down as the nation’s solitary gold, they finished with seven medals overall after the women’s 4x400m quartet secured a fifth bronze for GB.

The race was the final event of the Championships, with hurdler Jessie Knight helping Victoria Ohuruogu, Nicole Yeargin and Laviai Nielsen to bronze behind winners USA and silver-medallists Jamaica.

GB finished 11th in the medal table. Only seven nations won two or more golds, with USA winning a record 33 medals – including 13 golds – to top the table ahead of Ethiopia (four golds).

Jamaica were third, ahead of Kenya, China and Australia.

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