Keely Hodgkinson withdraws from UK 400m final

Olympic and world 800-meter champion Keely Hodgkinson withdrew from the 400-meter final at the UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham on Sunday, moments before the race was due to start. The 24-year-old was seen leaving the track at the Alexander Stadium in an emotional state after feeling what her coach later described as a "little twinge" during her warmup.

Her coach, Jenny Meadows, relayed to BBC commentary that Hodgkinson felt the sensation in her final strides before the race and chose to withdraw as a precaution. Hodgkinson subsequently issued statements on Instagram and to media, confirming the decision was made to prioritize her health for the upcoming summer season. "I wasn't feeling 100 percent standing on the start line, so I made the tough decision to step away and not race," she stated. "I didn't want to risk anything ahead of this summer."

The event was being used by Hodgkinson as a speed-development session within her primary goal for the 2026 outdoor season: to challenge the longest-standing individual track world record, Jarmila Kratochvilova's 800-meter time of 1:53.28, set in 1983. Hodgkinson has recently incorporated 400-meter races into her training to...