Great Britain’s 800m favourite Keely Hodgkinson pulls out of World Indoor Championships due to recurrence of a quad injury
- Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson has pulled out of World Indoor Championships
- She warmed up at the Stark Arena but decided not to race following injury scare
- Her exit leaves Britain at risk of exiting the Championship with zero medals
Keely Hodgkinson has pulled out of the World Indoor Championships in a major blow to British medal chances in Belgrade.
The 20-year-old was a huge favourite for gold in the 800m on Sunday but withdrew ahead of Saturday’s semi-final as a precaution after struggling with a minor injury to her right thigh.
The setback interrupts her astonishing early-season form, in which the Olympic silver medallist ran the sixth fastest indoor 800m time in history last month. Her thigh issue is in the same area as one sustained on her left leg in January, albeit less serious.
Keely Hodgkinson was the overwhelming favourite for the 800 metre title in Belgrade
With an eye on a congested summer, which includes the outdoor World Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Championships, she said: ‘I’ve had a few days with this – the other quad, not the original one. I did everything I could do put myself in the best position to be on the start line today but it just wasn’t meant to be.
‘There may be a weakness there that we need to sort out and going into the summer it’s just too big to risk anything at this stage.
‘I want to go and get healthy and I want to start that process now rather than risk getting a tear or something worse. It’s probably the best, smart decision for us. I’m gutted but it’s part of the sport I guess.’
Hodgkinson’s exit leaves Britain at risk of exiting a world championships with zero medals for only the second time in 35 campaigns indoors and out. The previous occasion, in 2006, could be traced to Britain deploying a skeleton team due to the proximity of the championships to the Commonwealth Games.
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