Hodgkinson beaten to gold as Hunter Bell takes silver

During Keely Hodgkinson's season from hell she has fought back from three hamstring injuries, plunging lows and frustrations, and a 376-day enforced break from racing. But when she asked her body for one last miracle in Tokyo it was unable to obey.

- Sean Ingle

Coming into the home straight of a spicy 800m, the Olympic champion once again saw gold in her eyes. But at the death, her lack of racing in 2025 - and, it later turned out, a stomach bug - caught up with her.

First the unheralded Kenyan Lilian Odira, the world No 17, swooped past to claim a shock victory in 1min 54.62sec. It was a personal best time by nearly two seconds, and afterwards the 26-year-old dedicated her gold medal to her two sons, who are four and two.

Behind her a desperately close battle of Britain was under way, with Hodgkinson's teammate and training partner Georgia Hunter Bell pipping her to silver by just 0.01 in the dip in 1:54.90, another big lifetime best. That meant Hodgkinson had to settle for bronze, despite her third-fastest time, 1:54.91. It was still a heck of an effort, given her injuries meant that she had raced only twice this year before arriving in Tokyo. Yet rarely has an athlete looked so underwhelmed.

When asked for the verdict on her season, she was blunt. "It's been an absolute shit show, honestly.

"I definitely do feel a little underraced. Two races is probably not enough, especially after so long out. I felt really bad in the semis but looking back, I think my stomach was playing up a little bit.