Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson will not compete at next weekend’s London Diamond League as she continues to make her way back to full fitness.
The 23-year-old Briton is yet to start her outdoor season after tearing her hamstring in February and has not raced since winning 800m gold at the Paris Olympics on 5 August.
Hodgkinson is back in full training after suffering a minor setback in June but has made the decision to delay her season opener to make sure she is completely ready to race with London coming too soon in her comeback.
Finding top form in time for September’s World Championships in Tokyo, Japan is the priority for Manchester-born runner.
Having won silver at the Worlds in 2022 and 2023, she will hope to go one better this year.
Hodgkinson, who was awarded an MBE in May, won 800m Olympic gold in Paris last summer with a stunning one minute 56.72 seconds run.
She also set a British record time of 1:54.61 at London Stadium in 2024 but the focus on collecting another global medal means sacrificing the chance to race on the same track this month.
Hodgkinson is another high-profile withdrawal from the London Diamond League following Norway’s 1500m star Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who had been set to renew his rivalry with Britain’s Josh Kerr but will miss out with an injury.
The meet in London on 19 July is the 11th of 15 in the Diamond League this season.
