Great Britain’s renowned athlete Keely Hodgkinson made her season debut recently, setting a new personal best in the 400 meters at the 13th Savona International Meeting – 2024 World Athletics Continental Tour – Challenger meet held in Citta di Savona on Wednesday (15).
The 22-year-old Hodgkinson, who is working on her speed ahead of the Paris Olympic Games where she’ll compete in the women’s 800 meters, clocked a time of 51.61 seconds for second place in the women’s 400 in Italy, bettering her previous personal best of 51.76 seconds, set in 2023 at the European Under-23 Championships.
Winning the race in Citta di Savona in midweek was in-form Irish sprinter Sharlene Mawdsley, who clocked 51.43 to extend her form from the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24, held earlier this month at The Bahamas National Stadium in Nassau.
As for Hodgkinson, she will be aiming to win her first Olympic gold medal later this summer after taking a silver medal at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games in 2021.
She owns a personal best of 1:55.19 for the 800, set to break the British national record at last year’s Prefontaine Classic at the historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Hodgkinson, who has won two European Indoor Championships gold medals, also won silver medals at the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships.