Close up with Keely Hodgkinson: An inside look at her rise to stardom

Nobody will forget the incredible moment when Keely Hodgkinson punched the air triumphantly as she crossed the finish line in the 800 metres final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Her rivals had no chance against that powerful stride, as the 23-year-old from Manchester sprinted away from the pack to secure her status as Team GB royalty.

Her Paris victory was the culmination of a streak of brilliance for Hodgkinson, after she first caught the world’s attention by bucking silver at Tokyo in 2020.

Since then, Hodgkinson’s stardom shows no sign of fading.

In the past year alone, she’s been named BBC Sports Personality of the Year and made an MBE in the 2025 New Year Honours, which she officially received from The Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle in May.

Most excitingly of all (for us!), she’s now one of our newest Ambassadors.

When we caught up with a rain-drenched Hodgkinson – in a break from training – she was keen to tell Vitality members all about who she is behind the medals and remind people that sport isn’t just about performance or fitness – it’s about feeling good, making human connections and creating healthy habits that last.

“Vitality fits in with what I believe,” she explains. “For me, mental health and activity go hand in hand and I’m always trying to get my friends to start being more active.

I think it’s something that should be a priority in everybody’s life, whether for long-term fitness or for socialising and meeting people.” When it comes to encouraging others to move more, Hodgkinson is all about small, sustainable changes.

“It’s little habits, little changes that can alter your day,” she says. “Whether that’s getting up just half an hour earlier or setting a goal of drinking so much water a day – something that's not too overwhelming so that you’re not dreading it before you’ve started.

“It’s about incorporating small things into your life rather than taking things away, or you won’t be encouraged to keep going. Once you can increase those habits, you can build in more – and all of a sudden, three months down the line, you’ve done it.”

“The social part is a great aspect of sport which can keep people going”

Keely Hodgkinson, Vitality Ambassador

Safety in numbers

Believe it or not, even one of the fastest women in the world has her off days. When we ask if she ever wakes up and doesn’t fancy training, she doesn’t miss a beat: “That definitely happens. It would be very unnatural if it didn’t,” she says.

“I think it’s quite an important message for people to hear, that even professional athletes who love their sport definitely sometimes wake up thinking, ‘I cannot be bothered to do this today.’

But I’ve had some of my best sessions from not wanting to do it, dreading it, but then it’s actually gone really well – and then you’re even more proud of yourself for stepping out of the door in the first place.”

Like many of us will coax our kids out of bed for parkrun, or a housemate to the early morning gym class, Hodgkinson has been known to enlist loved ones to workout with – she says it boosts not just her morale, but theirs too.

“I’ll take my sister with me to the gym to make it more fun, because we make each other laugh. The social part is a really important aspect of sport, which keeps people going.”

“I’m so grateful to have friends who are supportive of what I do”

Keely Hodgkinson, Vitality Ambassador

When not persuading her sister to go gyming with her, Hodgkinson has a pack of other elite athletes to train alongside, in whatever corner of the world she might be in.

“I love training with the group because it’s such a competitive group of Olympic, World and European medallists, but we all have different strengths and weaknesses, which help push us forward. We all really get on and support each other nicely.”

But when it comes to racing – that’s a whole different story. “It is an individual sport so, when it comes down to racing, it’s like every man for themselves.”

After all, you don’t become one of the fastest women in the world by letting your friends win.

That being said, Hodgkinson still values the headspace that solo runs provide. “Sometimes I just like going for a run by myself, having that time to switch off, not talk to anybody and just zone out.”

Spend the morning with Hodgkinson as she visits Battersea parkrun and starts her training session

From spikes to stilettos

You could be forgiven for mistaking Hodgkinson to be older than her years, given she’s achieved more than some could dare to dream in a lifetime.

But beyond her status as a track star, chasing world records and meeting the demands of the global athletics circuit, she’s just a normal 20-something.

“The professional sporting life is definitely very different to what my friends are doing. I’ve been pro since I was 17, which involves lots of traveling around the world.”

“I love getting glammed up and look forward to it. I’m in sweats so much that getting out of them is really nice”

Keely Hodgkinson, Vitality Ambassador

This certainly rings true as she dials into our call from South Africa. “Most of my friends are living in cities, working, doing normal stuff.”

But when they do hang out, it feels like no time has passed, she says, her eyes on the next opportunity she can spend some time with them.

“When we get together we have a great time, and they’re really understanding, because they know I’m doing what I’ve always wanted. And then when September rolls around, I’m free and can do whatever I want. I’m so grateful to have friends who are supportive of what I do.”

And in the fleeting time that she is not donning her spikes, Hodgkinson is also partial to styling a pair of stilettos. "I love getting glammed up and look forward to it," reveals Hodgkinson.

"I'm in sweats so much that getting out of them is really nice. But it means people stop me and stare for five seconds, asking 'is it you?', and I'm like 'I look a bit different right now."

Modern family

Aside from her friends supporting a career path few her age have walked before, Hodgkinson also credits her parents for her athletic journey, she says. “I don’t think my parents could have done anything better – they were the perfect balance of really supportive but never pushy,” she says with pride.

“There were periods when I didn’t enjoy track and didn’t want to do it, and they happily let me make my own choices even though they knew that I had a talent for it.”

She’s seen first-hand what can happen when parents go too far. “Growing up in the sport, I’ve seen parents get too involved and sometimes it’s not the greatest thing as it can make kids fall out of love with it,” she admits.

“You’ve got to let kids enjoy their childhood and not feel like they’re missing out on anything. The biggest dropout rate is from around age 15 to 20, so that stage is really important for getting it right.

There's a lot of changes going on for teenagers, so if they choose to stay with their sport, that’s great, but if they don’t, it’s obviously not meant to be.”

So, how did she ultimately realise she had what it took to win Olympic gold? “I think it was actually more gradual,” she reflects.

“When I was younger, I was obviously very inspired by the Olympics. I’ve always said that Jess [Ennis-Hill] was a big inspiration to me, but I was never 10 years’ old saying ‘I’m going to be Olympic champion’.

"It was more just that year by year, I would see what goals I could set for myself. That’s how my brain works and my philosophy works – stage by stage.”

And for the next generation? She wants to role model a sense of limitless potential. “It might sound like a cliché, but I just want to show [them] that anything is possible.”

She adds excitably: “Just because something hasn’t been done before, doesn’t mean it’s not possible. People are getting faster all the time, we have technology that is wowing people, plus the science and knowledge.

"It’s so exciting. I don’t put boundaries on myself, I take it year by year and see how strong I can get and how fast I can go, and I want to show other people that there are no boundaries, too.”