LONDON ATHLETICS MEET RETURN FOR OLYMPIC CHAMPION KEELY HODGKINSON

Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson (GBR) will receive a hero’s welcome when she returns to the London Stadium this summer to race over 800m at the London Athletics Meet (Saturday 19 July).

Delivering a typically fearless performance, the 23-year-old made history at the 2024 event with a meeting record, national record and personal best of 1:54.61, moving her from tenth up to sixth on the world all-time rankings. It was the perfect preparation for Paris where she went on to win Olympic gold, adding to a fast-growing CV that also includes Olympic silver (Tokyo 2021), four senior European titles and two World Championship silver medals.

“I remember after last year’s race thinking, ‘Can we do that all over again?’,” said the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year who enjoyed the ultimate confidence-boosting performance in front of a sell-out crowd. “It was such a dream to compete in the Olympic stadium and I’m so excited to get back out there and see what I can do.

“For me, that race really set me up for what I did in Paris. I’m now an Olympic champion which is a pretty amazing thing to say out loud, but I still haven’t won world gold, so I have really big goals this summer. Having that crowd behind me in London, plus a bunch of super-quick ladies to race against, will be the best possible preparation as I build towards the World Championships in Tokyo.”

The London Athletics Meet – the world’s biggest one-day athletics event – is the eleventh meeting of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League. The series, which will pay out a record total of 9.24 million US dollars in prize money, comprises 15 of the most prestigious events in global track and field across four different continents, starting with Xiamen on 26 April and concluding with a single final across two days in Zurich (27-28 August).

This year’s London Athletics Meet is the fastest selling in the event’s history and is on track to sell out in record time with over 57,000 tickets sold already. Final tickets have just been released and start from just £25.

Buy your tickets now: britishathletics.org.uk/london-athletics-meet-2025