Keely Hodgkinson celebrates her 800m world lead and national record in London (© Getty Images)
Global gold medallists Keely Hodgkinson, Femke Bol and Molly Caudery have been announced for the London Athletics Meet, a Wanda Diamond League meeting, on 19 July.
Great Britain’s Hodgkinson made 800m history at the 2024 event with a meeting record and national record of 1:54.61, moving her up to sixth on the world all-time list. It was the perfect preparation for Paris where she won Olympic gold, adding to a CV that also includes Olympic silver and two world silver medals.
“It was such a dream to compete in the Olympic stadium and I’m so excited to get back out there and see what I can do,” she said.
“That race really set me up for what I did in Paris. I’m now an Olympic champion which is a pretty amazing thing to say out loud, but I still haven’t won world gold, so I have really big goals this summer. Having that crowd behind me in London, plus a bunch of super-quick ladies to race against, will be the best possible preparation as I build towards the World Championships in Tokyo.”
Dutch star Bol returns to race the 400m hurdles in the stadium where she set the Diamond League record of 51.30 last year, eclipsing the 51.45 mark she had set at the same venue 12 months earlier.
Bol also set a European record of 50.95 in Switzerland last summer, taking half a second off her lifetime best. She went on to win mixed 4x400m gold, women’s 4x400m silver and 400m hurdles bronze at the Olympic Games in Paris.
In September, she was crowned Diamond League champion for the fourth successive year.
“My first run in London in 2023 was a dream come true, and to go even quicker in 2024 was incredible,” she said. “There is just something so special about competing in that stadium.”
Britain’s Caudery, the 2024 world indoor pole vault champion, started her season with a win by vaulting 4.75m in Doha and will be hoping to build on that in front of a home crowd.
“To be back competing in London this summer is such a huge motivation for me,” she said.
They will be joined in London by Morgan Lake, the British high jump record-holder.
Hodgkinson has also been confirmed for the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm on 15 June, where she will go up against her compatriots Jemma Reekie and Georgia Bell, while Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi will also be in action in the men’s event in Stockholm.
Also at the BAUHAUS-galan will be Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita, who will join Olympic champion Julian Alfred and Julia Henriksson in the 100m.
