'A better version of me': Hodgkinson eyes gold after injury struggle

A car trip to collect her MBE nearly ruined her season, but a full-time physio and a salt lamp aided recovery

- Sean Ingle

There was a moment in the summer when Keely Hodgkinson feared her season was in tatters. She had injured her hamstring yet again during an eight-hour round trip to Windsor Castle to collect her MBE. There were tears and mood swings. Emotional ups and downs. She was the Olympic 800m champion. Britain's golden girl. And it looked as if 2025 was a write-off.

"I think I was a bit fiery at that time," says a laughing Hodgkinson, with an honesty that is every bit as blistering as her running. "I put my heart and soul into this. I've spent all my life doing it. For that to be taken away was definitely quite challenging."

Things got so bad, she says, that her coaches, Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, who were away on the European circuit helping other athletes in their M11 track club, resorted to an unorthodox method to boost her spirits.

"They would get told I had unpredictable mood swings. Some days I'd walk in and I'd be really happy. On other days it'd be like, don't talk to me.

"Trevor got me one of those Himalayan salt lamps. It is as big as my head. He was like: 'Oh, I've got you something.' Because his sister owns a crystal shop, and I'm into crystals and spirituality."

There are plenty of sceptics when it comes to the lamps, whether they do help create a calming atmosphere and improve mood. But around the same time, Painter also turned to hard science by persuading Nike to stump up funds for a full-time physiotherapist. It would turn out to be a gamechanger.