Hodgkinson withdraws from 400m final at UK championships

Olympic gold medalist Keely Hodgkinson withdrew from the 400-meter final at the UK Athletics Championships moments before the race was scheduled to begin on Sunday.

The 800-meter champion was seen in tears as she stepped aside from the track. According to the BBC, the 24-year-old athlete felt a "twinge" and opted for caution rather than risk injury by competing.

Hodgkinson experienced an injury-shortened season in 2025, which included missing her own "Keely Klassic" meet due to a hamstring problem. Despite these setbacks, she ended the year with renewed determination to break the longest-standing individual track record in her signature event, the 800 meters.

That record, 1:53.28 set by Jarmila Kratochvilova 43 years ago, has remained elusive for many. However, Hodgkinson has demonstrated her exceptional form, smashing the women's world indoor record for the 800m in February. She achieved this at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Lievin, shaving 0.95 seconds off the previous mark of 1:55.82 set by Slovenia's Jolanda Ceplak in 2002.

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felt a twinge and had elected to play it safe rather than attempt the race