Keely Hodgkinson - The Pride of Leigh

[CAML]

Mu ran very well. I believe most of her fastest times have been set in Eugene, apart from Tokyo. KH has got to put the boot into that 400-600 stretch in Paris next year, no slower than 85 seconds. I think Moraa might struggle with that pace, and then if KH loses running 1.53.9(a time possible if it all goes to plan) then the best girl won.

[Sovietvest]

She's a national treasure. Best British athlete I think I've seen in my lifetime - just ahead of Daley. Unfortunately she's competing at the same time as Mu - greatest W800 runner ever. I think her 'Training Age' is much younger than Mu's, though. Let's see how much they can still both improve - maybe Keely has the higher ceiling.

Much as I love 400/800-types and would always advocate working on speed for the 800, I think the key to Keely beating Mu and Moraa is developing her strength. I'd love to see her run a few 1500s in years to come.

[Chafford1]

Certainly the most talented athlete of this current generation.

[HaroldAbrahams]

Hmmmm - if you can remember Daley Thompson, you can presumably also remember Coe, Ovett, Cram, Gunnell, Ennis, Edwards, Jackson, Holmes and Farah, all of whom have achieved far more than Keely has so far. Let's judge her in five years' time.

[Ursus]

I’m not judging her place in the pantheon just yet - that’s a latter or post career discussion. Having burst on to the scene so early she may be done by 24, who knows?

Now 10th on the all time list, tied to the hundredth with Ceplak and Mutola. Interesting list ahead of her.

[jackg]

She needs to improve her tactics.she made it a little easier for Mu by leading on the second lap for a considerable time.
Am I correct but has KH ever completed the final 50m against Mu ,on Mu'soutside rather than her inside?

I think her idea for this race was to go out faster than Budapest in order to take the sting out of Moraa's kick.
But in doing so, she didn't have enough left to beat Mu down the stretch, as she had done in Budapest.
So it seems she needs to straddle a fine line between, neutralizing Moraa's kick, and having enough left to outrun Mu to the finish line.

[HaroldAbrahams]

Keely is phenomenally talented but the fact is she keeps being narrowly beaten in major races by her main rivals in tight finishes. I think she has to become a front runner and dictate the race speed from the gun, otherwise she's always likely to be outkicked by Mu or Moraa.

[berkeley]

Isn't that exactly what she did in this race ? I think she did everything right. In spite of what must I'm sure be a bitter disappointment for her, I think there are two huge positives from this race:
1. People complained about Mu being allowed in the race with no qualifying DL points. However I think the race was much more exciting and interesting for her presence. I doubt KH would have run as fast as 1:55.19 without Mu, and she has now vaulted from number 25 to 10 on the all time list.
2. Once again it was very close, and as a result, I think KH will go into the winter with confidence that she is capable of beating both Mu and Moraa next year.

[trevorp]

Now 10th on the all time list, tied to the hundredth with Ceplak and Mutola. Interesting list ahead of her.

Indeed. Looking at that list there's really only Athing that I feel completely comfortable with.

[Runner88]

Keely was beaten by someone who ran sub 1.55, sometimes there’s just not much more you can do. It took the fastest ever performance by Mu to beat her on the day. Keely will get the beating of them both in the same race. Her career has been phenomenal so far and it shows all the signs of getting even better