By Mathew Davies,Rachel Steinberg PA,Tokyo

Copyright walesonline

Keely Hodgkinson revealed she will find solace with her bronze medal after enduring a “s**tshow” of a year to secure third place in the 800m final on the concluding evening of the World Championships in Tokyo. The 23-year-old had been aiming to claim her first world title alongside the Olympic gold she captured in Paris last summer, but was edged out at the finish line by training partner Georgia Hunter-Bell, who lunged forward to snatch silver by just one hundredth of a second in 1:54.90. Hodgkinson fought her way back from a 376-day injury absence to establish a world-leading time in Silesia during mid-August, though the heats, semi-final and final in Tokyo represented merely her third, fourth and fifth competitive outings across the entire season. “It’s been a s**t show. I mean an an absolute s**t show,” confessed Hodgkinson, when questioned about her extended period away from competition. “I think when you look at some of the greats in all sports there’s years where they haven’t done as well, they’ve missed podiums, they’ve missed a complete year, they’ve missed the championships, and somehow I’ve managed to stay on that trajectory, which I think is incredible. “At the end of my career, I think people remember what you’ve won, not what you’ve lost, and this will just go down as part of my journey, I think, and on reflection I’ll be quite happy.” Hodgkinson’s finishing time remained her third-quickest ever over 800m, whilst Hunter-Bell established a new personal record. The British pair were in pole position for gold and silver, with Hodgkinson leading the charge, until Kenyan Lilian Odira overtook them on the home straight to clinch gold with a championship record of 1:54.62. This left the British athletes vying for second place. It was a nail-biting wait before the stadium screens revealed that Hunter-Bell had narrowly secured second place. The medals in the 800m final were just two of five won by Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the World Champions – as they failed the win a gold medal for the first time since 2003. The total of five medals is their lowest since the 2005 championships, as they finished 21st in the medal table in Tokyo. Hodgkinson’s journey has been fraught with challenges. After her victory in Paris, she re-injured her knee. Then, just as she was set to headline her own event in February – the inaugural Keely Klassic in Birmingham – she had to withdraw due to a torn hamstring. She was gearing up for her season debut at the Stockholm Diamond League in mid-June when she injured her other hamstring – an injury she had never experienced before. The pain was so severe that it manifested as back pain while she was en route to Windsor Castle for her MBE ceremony in May. Missing out on the London Diamond League – and the opportunity to celebrate her Olympic victory in front of her home crowd – was the most devastating blow. However, she bounced back by running a world-leading one minute, 54.74 seconds in Poland, and further proved her resilience four days later when she set a meeting record of 1:55.69 under challenging conditions in Lausanne. Despite these setbacks, she arrived in Japan with only the Silesia and Lausanne Diamond Leagues under her belt. “I definitely do feel a bit under-ran,” she admitted after Sunday’s final. “I’m not someone that needs loads of races, but two probably isn’t enough, especially after so long. “I felt really bad in the semis, my stomach was playing up a bit, but I did my best to turn that around. I think I did a really good job.” Hodgkinson said she would reflect on the race, but added: “Look at my legs in the last five metres. I gave it everything. There wasn’t really much more I could do.” Hunter-Bell added another extraordinary achievement to her already impressive CV. The 31-year-old was once a promising junior athlete, who left the track in 2017 after suffering a series of injuries while studying in the United States. She returned to running initially as a way of getting out of the house during the coronavirus pandemic, eventually reconnecting with her former coach Trevor Painter to see if he would take her back on. “I did think for a moment I was going to win it,” said Hunter-Bell, whose time moved her into ninth on the women’s 800m all-time list. “That’s racing,” she responded, when reminded of the moment she dipped to beat Hodgkinson at the line. Hunter-Bell was still “thrilled” with her result, backing herself to be “good at rising to the occasion at world championships”. Hunter-Bell stepped away from a full-time cybersecurity career to make her Paris debut, only turning professional after securing bronze at those Games last summer – something she acknowledges has been “harder mentally” as “being the underdog last year was just so much fun”. When questioned about any remorse over initially departing from athletics, she remarked: “If I look at what Keely has achieved at 23, I think we were running very similar times when we were like 11, 12, 13. “If I went and did what Keely did in my young 20s, then maybe Trevor would be able to do what he did with her with me. “At the same time, I wouldn’t have met my husband, I wouldn’t have experienced what I’ve experienced in life. I just think I’m on my own path. I’m where I want to be – at world championships, running my fastest-ever times.”