Team GB star Keely Hodgkinson's tumour battle, not being a 'one-hit wonder' and dreaming of gold

Team GB star Keely Hodgkinson is going for gold at the 2024 Olympics after making a name for herself in Tokyo three years ago. At just 19, she won the silver medal in the women’s 800m.

Just six days before the opening ceremony for Paris, she achieved a new national women’s 800m record, with the world-leading time of one minute 54.61 seconds at the London Diamond League. She said it's left her feeling "really good and confident" - but she isn't getting ahead of herself.

She has previously spoken about the lows that followed her incredible achievement at the Tokyo Olympics. And she's stressed: "Obviously the main aim is just to get to the final first and then once we’re there we can discuss getting medals".

But gold is the goal, with Keely saying: “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."

Read on to find out everything you need to know about Keely.

Keely was born in Atherton, described by the official Olympics website as "a small town near Manchester in the north of England". She has three siblings and her parents were both runners.

Swimming appealed to her when she was younger and she's said she used to row with her dad over it, with him telling her she was much better at running. Inspired by the gold medal-winning performance of Jessica Ennis-Hill at the London 2012 Olympic Games, she eventually opted for athletics and at nine, joined Leigh Harriers, and started pursuing running.

Keely went to Fred Longworth High with future football star Ella Toone and was known as "mini Ella". She told the Mirror in 2022: "We are just two young girls living their dreams.