Golden runder

Keely cheered to 800m glory | First Brit to win since Holmes

- JEREMY ARMSTRONG

BRILLIANT Keely Hodgkinson was cheered on by an army of family and friends as she stormed to 800m Olympic gold in Paris last night.

A group of around 40 met at the Eiffel Tower before heading to Stade de France to watch her become the first Brit to win the event since Kelly Holmes in 2004.

Wearing Team Keely 24 t-shirts, they were led by her mum Rachel and dad Dean, from Wigan, Gtr Manchester.

Keely, who won silver in Tokyo in 2021, trained six hours a day, six days a week, vowing she was "not having second again".

After winning in 1:56.72, she said: "That was absolutely incredible. I can't believe I've finally done it. It means so much to me. The audience was absolutely incredible, it felt like a home crowd to me.

"I showed composure and I got to the line first this time. I feel like I've really grown over the last couple of years and this year I've really tried to make that step up."

Before the race, Dame Kelly said the Wigan warrior, who is just 22, had done everything in her power to win gold.

She added: "No one sees the daily grind that it takes to be the best. You have to enjoy the highs but also deal with the lows."