Free-spirit Hodgkinson has designs on Olympic glory

The overwhelming favourite for 800m gold has been given license to be herself - and it's working, writes Ben Bloom

- Ben Bloom

Deep in winter training last November, Keely Hodgkinson was "absolutely flying" in training when she first felt a niggle in her knee. It quickly worsened, with tests revealing a torn ligament which, given the importance of the year ahead, was an understandable concern.

It was a concern in the medium term because it ruled her out of winning what would have been a first global title at the Glasgow World Indoor Championships, where there were hopes she could challenge the 800m world record. It was a concern in the longer term because it meant she missed a host of important training sessions during weeks spent recuperating away from the track. And it was an immediate concern because the only way she could keep fit was doing things like cross-training and work in the swimming pool.

"She hates that because the chlorine messes her hair up and she's always very conscious about that," explains her coach Trevor Painter.

Hodgkinson, a firm favourite to win Olympic 800m gold in Paris, does not fit the stereotypical mould of the laser-focused, single-minded athlete. She does not take any interest in the science or theory behind her training regime, instead preferring to simply turn up at the track and receive instructions to follow. She is rarely, if ever, on time, with Painter allowing a 15-minute grace period for scheduled start times that she nonetheless regularly misses. This week, she has happily shrugged off the gentle rebuke of some Team GB staff members at her preference for Coco Chanel sunglasses and a Louis Vuitton handbag over regulation Adidas kit.

She is, according to Painter, "a free spirit. If we contain her, put her in a box and tell her you've got to conform to this and want you to be like that, she'll not be the same person."