SHE'S A REAL GOLDEN GIRL

Keely's victory over 800m elevates her among greats

- Andy Dunn

ON a steamy night in northern Paris there were tears, plenty of them, but barely a bead of sweat.

Keely Hodgkinson did not just live up to her billing as a gold medal certainty, she did so with a generational performance.

That pre-race billing brought a load of pressure, with everyone expecting her coronation.

The weight of a nation's sporting hopes were, for just under two minutes, on Hodgkinson's shoulders, and she knew the rest of the field would have to conspire to stop her, rough her up or get her out of her rhythm.

But nothing can put this remarkable super-confident athlete off her most regal of strides.

She went to the front with just over 500m left, and dictated matters until crossing the line in 1min 56.72secs, comfortably ahead of Ethiopia's Tsige Duguma and Kenya's Mary Moraa. In fact, she dictated matters from the off.

As she pulled away in the home straight, Hodgkinson even had time to look up at the giant screen to see her epic finish in all its cinematic glory.