Hodgkinson ends season with 800m Athlos win in New York

Serena Williams presents Keely Hodgkinson with her Tiffany & Co crown after winning the 800m during at Athlos in New York

Following an injury-ridden season and disappointing bronze at the World Championships, Keely Hodgkinson closed out the year by winning the 800m at Athlos in New York as well as $60,000 and a Tiffany & Co. crown.  

Hodgkinson stormed to a 1:56.53 meet record, crucially beating training partner Georgia Hunter Bell who nipped the Olympic Champion on the line in Tokyo just weeks ago.

Athlos, a women’s track and field meet, took place at the Icahn Stadium New York on Friday, following the long jump qualifying competition in Times Square the night before.

Keely Hodgkinson poses with her Tiffany & Co. crown after winning the 800m at Athlos in New York

“I’ve barely raced this season so it was probably less of a struggle for me to go out there and want to give it something,” said Hodgkinson, who finished third at worlds last month.

“The atmosphere out there is crazy so it was really, really fun.”

Twenty-three-time tennis major winner Serena Williams, who is married to Athlos founder Alexis Ohanian, was on hand to present the winners with their crowns, adding A-list lustre to the event.

The meet also attracted some of the sport’s biggest names, as Kenya’s three-time Olympic gold medallist and world record-holder Faith Kipyegon ran a superb technical performance to win the mile, crossing the finish in 4:17.78.

Georgia Hunter Bell and Keely Hodgkinson are training partners as part of M11 Track Club (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

She finished nearly two seconds faster than Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay, while American Nikki Hiltz was third in 4:32.51.

Olympic champion Masai Russell wrested the lead with two barriers to go to win the 100m hurdles in 12.52, ending her season on a positive note after a disappointing fourth-place finish at worlds last month in Tokyo.

Her American compatriot Grace Stark, who took bronze at worlds, finished second in 12.60, while Alaysha Johnson (12.66) was third.

American Brittany Brown surprised herself with the sprint double, starting with the 100m where she exploded at the halfway mark and hung on through the final metres to win in 10.99 seconds. Beating compatriot Jacious Sears by just two hundredths of a second, with Kayla White (11.22) third.

The 200m Olympic bronze medallist returned to the track an hour later, dominating the longer sprint with a personal best 21.89, beating compatriot Anavia Battle (22.21) and Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith (22.65).

The gold medallist at the Paris Games, Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic broke away down the final straight to win the 400m in 50.07, while Brit Amber Anning came through in sixth with 52.86,

In the long jump, Olympic and World Champion Tara Davis-Woodhall equalled her best performance of the year to take the first field event win at Athlos.

But the night before the final, was a historic moment for women’s long jump as the qualifying took place in Times Square.

Six women were jumping in an attempt to make the final, including Brit Jazmin Sawyers, who jumped 6.22 in the final to take third, 18 months after rupturing her Achilles.

New rival on the horizon

For the last couple of years, Hodgkinson has been the poster girl of 800m, but next year there’ll be a new kid on the block.

Femke Bol has announced she will move to running the 800m after becoming two-time world champion over 400m hurdles

At just 25-years-old Femke Bol has three World Championship golds, three silvers and a bronze, alongside one Olympic gold, one silver and two bronze.

But on Friday, she revealed that she will move to compete over the 800m next season, an unusual transition for an athlete.

Hodgkinson welcomed the Dutch favourite online, who she is likely to compete against at the European Athletics Championships next year in Birmingham.