Keely Hodgkinson defies illness to claim fourth European Championship crown

Keely Hodgkinson is a four-time European champion, but what should have been the most clear-cut victory of them all owed as much to kidology and grit as her obvious physical superiority.

Having gone down with an illness on Tuesday, Hodgkinson was not sure of running until about 10 minutes before the 800-metre final but, after some vitamin C, aspirin, nose spray, paracetamol and a few final warm-up sprints, she concluded that, yes, she could probably still win.

“It was the sorest I have ever felt in a race but I had to believe in the fact that I am the defending champion,” said Hodgkinson, who had begun to feel a sore throat, headache and runny nose following her semi-final win 36 hours earlier.

It then only got worse and worse through Tuesday, leaving a knife-edge decision over how to balance the competitive instinct to win against the knowledge that more important races still await.

“I’ve been umming and ahhing all day,” she said. “Can I still put on a performance? I’d be disappointed if I didn’t try. So I wanted to try. It was just about finding a way.

“I’ve got to think about my health as well. But I have trained ill before. You do think, ‘How much worse is it going to make me in two hours when I crash?’ In warm up I felt OK. Hopefully it has been worth it.”

It had all meant managing expectations down from the potential championship records, world leads and personal bests that her training had suggested were feasible to simply ensuring that she crossed the line first while expending minimal energy.

She achieved that – surviving a late run by Slovakia’s Gabriela Gajanova to prevail in 1min 58.66sec – and Hodgkinson’s idea of a celebration will now be a big sleep in the hope of being ready to resume training again on Saturday.

With the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics now only six weeks away, every training session can feel critical but most of the hard work is already banked and the priority now will be to carefully manage her return.

It also meant showing another side of her racing skills. Having immediately sprinted into the lead, it became clear after only about 200m that something was wrong. The pace slowed and it was evident that Hodgkinson was way below the standards that had made her a 33-1 on pre-race favourite. But Hodgkinson had also effectively disguised her illness to competitors who respectfully filed in behind before an increase in pace at around 200m – and then again in the final metres – were enough to seal one of Britain’s four golds of the championships.

“I just wanted to control it – if they were going to beat me, they had to catch me,” said Hodgkinson. “Sometimes when you are racing, you’ve got to think that as much as you are nervous, they are also nervous to race you as well. It was just relief at the finish. I looked at the screen but didn’t see her behind to be honest. I feel like I’m in the shape of my life – I’ve just got to get rid of this little thing.”

Great Britain also led from the start just over an hour later to take a second gold of the night and a sprint double at these championships for Dina Asher-Smith in the women’s 4x100m relay. Fresh from winning the 100m title, Asher-Smith put Britain in a predictable lead on the first leg and they were then never behind as she handed on to Desiree Henry before Amy Hunt on the third leg and then Daryll Neita anchored the team home in 41.91sec.