Keely Hodgkinson is friends with Man United star and was left deaf in one ear by tumour

Keely Hodgkinson, Team GB's gold medal hopeful, once had a tumour that left her partially deaf in one ear.

The acclaimed athlete is aiming for a podium finish for the country in Monday evening's 800m final - after making a name for herself with a silver in the same event in Tokyo three years ago. However, she'll be up against some of the world's most accomplished middle-distance runners in her pursuit of gold this summer, with Juliette Whittaker from Team USA, Ethiopia's Worknesh Mesele, and Kenya's Mary Moraa all making it to the final.

Despite this, the 22-year-old from Atherton will have high expectations when she takes her place at the starting blocks, having set a national women's 800m record of 54.61 seconds at the London Diamond League just six days prior to the Parisian opening ceremony. Hodgkinson confessed that the time made her feel "really good and confident" but recognises that there's still hard work ahead.

READ MORE: Georgia Taylor-Brown bags another Olympic medal with mixed relay bronze at Paris 2024

READ MORE: Andy Murray's journey from centre court glory to family life and financial success

Discussing her ambitions, she stated: "I might be young, but I have spent so many years working towards this. I have a few World silvers behind me now and it would really mean so much to me to upgrade that to a gold. It would be life-changing."

Here's everything you need to know about Team GB's Keely Hodgkinson.

She was drawn to swimming

Keely Hodgkinson, the rising star in athletics, could have been making waves in Olympic swimming if not for her preference for terra firma over aquatic pursuits. As a child, she often clashed with her father on this very topic, convinced she was more suited to land