Unfulfilled Dream: Keely Hodgkinson Was Extremely Disappointed When She Finished Third in the Women’s 800m Final at the World Athletics Championships, Just 0.01 Seconds Behind the Champion, Leaving All the Spectators “Unbelievable”

In the electric atmosphere of Tokyo’s National Stadium, the women’s 800m final at the 2025 World Athletics Championships unfolded like a script from a dreamer’s nightmare. Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson, the 23-year-old British sensation who had dominated the distance with ruthless precision just a year prior in Paris, crossed the line in third place, her face a mask of raw anguish. The clock read 1:54.99—merely 0.01 seconds adrift of Kenya’s Lilian Odira, who claimed gold in 1:54.98, and a heartbreaking hundredth behind her compatriot Georgia Hunter Bell’s silver in 1:54.99. As the scoreboard flashed the results, a collective gasp rippled through the 68,000-strong crowd, many whispering “unbelievable” in disbelief at the razor-thin margins that shattered what seemed inevitable.

Hodgkinson, fresh off a 376-day injury layoff that had tested her resolve like never before, entered the championships as the undisputed favorite. Her Paris Olympic triumph in 2024, where she shattered Kelly Holmes’ long-standing British record with a blistering 1:54.61, had cemented her as the queen of the one-lap grind. Analysts predicted a procession: upgrade her silvers from Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023 to gold, perhaps even flirt with the world record. But athletics, that cruel mistress of unpredictability, had other plans. A hamstring tear sidelined her for over a year, turning what should have been a victory lap into a gritty comeback saga. “Every day felt like a battle,” Hodgkinson later admitted in a post-race interview, her voice cracking. “I visualized this moment a thousand times—gold around my neck, the anthem playing. To fall short by a blink… it’s gutting.”

The race itself was a tactical masterclass laced with chaos, one of the greatest 800m showdowns in history. Three women dipped under 1:55, a feat that underscored the depth of talent in the event. Odira, the 25-year-old Kenyan with a penchant for late surges, lurked mid-pack early on, conserving energy like a coiled spring. Hunter Bell, Hodgkinson’s 21-year-old training partner and roomie at their pre-championship camp, shadowed her closely, the duo forming a de facto British blockade. Hodgkinson took the lead midway through the first lap, her strides long and economical, dictating a pace that burned just enough oxygen from her rivals without inviting a premature breakaway.

As the bell rang for the final lap, the stadium pulsed with anticipation. The crowd, a mix of flag-waving Brits and global track aficionados, sensed history. Hodgkinson pushed harder, her arms pumping like pistons, eyes locked on the finish. But Odira unleashed her signature kick with 150 meters to go, weaving through the fray with the ferocity of a Nairobi street runner. Hunter Bell responded instinctively, surging alongside her mentor in a display of youthful audacity. Hodgkinson dug deep, her face contorted in that familiar grimace of defiance—the same one that had carried her past Athing Mu in Paris. For a fleeting second, it looked like she might hold on. Then, in a blur of spikes and sweat, the photo finish confirmed the cruel verdict: Odira first, Hunter Bell a photo-finish second, Hodgkinson relegated to bronze by the slimmest of margins.

The aftermath was pure theater. Odira collapsed in joyous exhaustion, pumping her fists as Kenyan flags fluttered like confetti. Hunter Bell, tears streaming, embraced her coaches, whispering, “We did it—for Keely.” But it was Hodgkinson’s reaction that seared into memory. She halted abruptly, hands on knees, staring at the track as if it had betrayed her. Slowly, she rose, forcing a smile for the cameras, but her eyes—those fierce, unyielding eyes—betrayed the storm within. “I gave everything,” she told reporters, her Mancunian accent thick with emotion. “Coming back from injury, qualifying through those rounds… it was all for this. Third? It feels like failure right now.” Spectators nearby echoed her pain; one British fan, clutching a Union Jack, muttered, “Unbelievable— she deserved it.” Social media erupted, with #JusticeForKeely trending worldwide, fans dissecting the replay frame by frame, convinced the naked eye had cheated her.

This wasn’t just a loss; it was the unfulfilled dream of a generation. Hodgkinson burst onto the scene as a teenager, nearly quitting at 15 until her father bribed her back with promises of new trainers. By 19, she was Olympic silver medalist, eclipsing Holmes’ record in Tokyo’s delayed 2021 Games. Her silvers in 2022 and 2023 Worlds stung like open wounds, each one a near-miss against the Kenyan juggernaut—Moraa then, Odira now. Yet, she evolved: launching the glitzy Keely Klassic meet in Birmingham to inject flair into staid athletics, balancing criminology studies with yacht parties in Marbella post-Paris. “I’m more than a runner,” she often says, a nod to her off-track life as a Manchester United diehard and friend to footballer Ella Toone. But on the track, vulnerability crept in. The injury, she revealed, forced introspection: “It made me hungrier, but also human. I can’t control the clock, only my fight.”

For Great Britain, the night was bittersweet. Hunter Bell’s silver marked her breakout, the first British double in a global middle-distance final since 1983. Yet, no gold—a championship drought that gnaws at Team GB’s ambitions. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, himself a double Olympic 1500m gold medalist, lauded Hodgkinson’s resilience: “She’s the best 800m runner breathing. This? Just fuel for Paris 2028.” Odira, meanwhile, dedicated her win to Kenya’s enduring legacy, joining the pantheon of middle-distance greats.

As dawn broke over Tokyo on September 21, 2025, Hodgkinson slipped away from the medal ceremony, medal dangling heavy around her neck. The dream deferred, not denied. In athletics’ unforgiving ledger, 0.01 seconds can rewrite destinies, but they can’t erase Hodgkinson’s fire. Spectators left the stadium murmuring “unbelievable,” not in defeat, but awe—at a champion who, even in bronze, ran like gold. Her next chapter? Undoubtedly, one for the ages.