Heat is on as Keely breezes into semis

Favourite for gold glad to get heats out of the way

- TOM HARLE

THE fact that Keely Hodgkinson still gets a headache from the heats should be comforting to Phoebe Gill as she navigates the same narrative arc.

800m favourite Hodgkinson increasingly casts a spell over her rivals and she was unchallenged in her Olympic heat, winning it in a fairly brisk 1:59.31.

The 22-year-old, from Wigan, has never come unstuck at the first hurdle of a major championship but still finds the early stages tough to negotiate.

“I don’t really like heats, they’re not my favourites,” said Hodgkinson.