RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Keely Hodgkinson has been here before - and it eventually culminated in her crowning moment.
Just two athletes stood between the Briton and total domination in the early years of her career.
But, after taking silver at three consecutive global championships amid captivating battles with American Athing Mu and Kenya’s Mary Moraa, Hodgkinson finally took the top step of a podium at the Paris Olympics.
Now, her European reign has been ended by talented Swiss 22-year-old Audrey Werro, and a fresh wave of world-class rivals appear set to define the next chapter of Hodgkinson's story.
Friday's gripping final in Birmingham offered a first taste of what fans will hope are many titanic battles with Werro and Dutch star Femke Broeders-Bol, with next season's World Championships in Beijing preceding the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The fierce competition does not stop there, with world 800m champion Lilian Odira and Hodgkinson's training partner Georgia Hunter Bell among those who could also prove key players in those global showdowns.
"There have been so many rivalries over the last couple of years. I have only been in this game for five years, hopefully I've got another 10 in me," said 24-year-old Hodgkinson.
"There will always be competitors coming along and you don't know when someone is going to have a breakthrough.
"I am proud of my consistency to stay competitive and continue to fight and add more medals to my collection.
"It's not just my event that has rivalries, every single event does and it's creating a great generation of track and field athletes."
After overcoming two hamstring tears to make the world podium in Tokyo last September, the six-time global medallist announced her return to full health this year by breaking the 24-year indoor world 800m record and winning a first world title.
But, having set her sights on the outdoor record, which has stood since 1983, Hodgkinson instead had to overcome several setbacks en route to her latest podium.
While unexpected, her defeat by Werro at the Stockholm Diamond League in June was far from a disaster.
There, Hodgkinson improved her British record off the back of a training block focused on developing her 400m speed, before beginning her 800m-specific work leading into the summer's main targets.
She was beaten only by the fastest time recorded in 43 years.
However, after a muscle "twinge" forced her tearful withdrawal from the 400m final at the British Championships, she competed with her knees heavily bandaged following a nasty fall in training as she finished behind world champion Odira in Eugene.
It meant a return to winning ways became the priority at the London Diamond League, the meeting she previously circled for a potential record-breaking run.
Holding off world-champion hurdler Broeders-Bol, who has taken quickly to the 800m since switching events this season, Hodgkinson took victory in front of 60,000 home fans to rebuild some confidence following what she conceded had been "a tough couple of weeks".
Forgoing the Commonwealth Games to prioritise her European title defence, Hodgkinson was further encouraged by her progress on a Portugal training camp before travelling to Birmingham.
Speaking on the eve of the championships, she welcomed the strong competition and said achieving gold on British soil would mean as much as her Olympic triumph.
While that did not materialise on Friday, the fresh challenge posed by Werro in particular will only intensify her determination to reassert herself at the top of the event.
"Obviously I would have rather walked away with the gold, but I don't think I have done anything wrong," said Hodgkinson.
"It was a great race to be part of, a great race for the crowd to watch. Great that all three of us could line up together.
"I'm really proud of the battle I gave. I look forward to the next match-up."
Hodgkinson twice got the better of Werro during her unstoppable indoor campaign - including to land her first world title in March.
But she was as stunned as anyone when the European under-23 champion surged past her in Stockholm to reduce her personal best by almost two seconds.
Werro would go faster still, improving to one minute 53.80 seconds in Paris.
Those two runs, just three weeks apart, are the only two sub-1:54 performances since Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova set her record time of 1:53.28.
Two years ago, Werro failed to make it out of the heats at the Olympics which Hodgkinson would go on to win.
However, her best time is now more than half a second faster than Hodgkinson's 1:54.33, while Broeders-Bol clocked 1:55.54 in taking bronze in Birmingham.
Werro survived an almighty scare on Thursday when she suffered a nasty fall in her semi-final, before later being reinstated in the competition.
Recovering impressively both physically and mentally from that shock, she showed great maturity to hold off Hodgkinson in the tense closing stages - while breaking a championship record that had stood since 1982.
"I knew I could be European champion one day. I hope to be faster and faster next year," Werro said.
"When I was a child, my dad used to tell me I have to be a lion. I shouldn't be shy and let other athletes go past me, so I decided to do a celebration with that when I crossed the line."
In claiming her first senior international title, Werro has proven she is ready to rival the Briton for the sport's biggest prizes for years to come.
"Audrey Werro is still young and that was a huge amount of pressure, even without the fall and the bruising," former marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe told BBC TV.
"She pulled it together and took the race by the scruff of the neck, which I think Keely did intend for her to do - but she thought she could come back at her.
Hodgkinson jokingly removed her medal in disgust when asked how she felt after the final.
Despite her disappointment, this was her 12th senior international medal and she continues to progress he...
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