- Hodgkinson had targeted the indoor 800m world record at her own event
- The Paris 2024 gold medallist was forced to pull out this week due to an injury
- Hodgkinson believes events like the ‘Keely Klassic’ are needed to attract fans
Keely Hodgkinson has warned athletics must embrace change if it wants to be noticed outside of the Olympics.
Britain’s golden girl has launched a new indoor event, the Keely Klassic, which is taking place on Saturday in Birmingham, with live DJs and light shows.
Hodgkinson was set to headline her own meeting by going for the world indoor 800 metres record before she was forced to pull out with injury on Thursday.
However, the 22-year-old will still attend the Utilita Arena and is on a mission to make her ailing sport more appealing to the public, in a year when Michael Johnson is also launching a new league, Grand Slam Track.
‘We’re just hoping to bring some more fun to athletics, hopefully make it more of a show so people find it exciting to watch,’ said the Olympic 800m champion.
‘Sometimes change can be scary for some people, especially if you’ve been in the sport for a long time and it’s been a certain way the whole time. But I think change is a good thing.
Keely Hodgkinson has warned athletics must embrace change to attract new fans to the sport
The Olympic champion has launched the Keely Klassic, one of several new events this year
‘We’ve got a lot of change coming to track and field this year, with Grand Slam Track as well, so let’s just see what it can do for the sport.
‘Every four years the Olympics are huge. It was the only thing trending on my TikTok back in August. A lot of people loved watching it and that was just on the TV at home.
‘So bringing something to the UK, where I know athletics is a respected sport here, is just putting it back in the public eye. It’s always nice to attract new fans to the sport.’
The Keely Klassic has been organised by Hodgkinson’s management team and has been marketed around homegrown stars going for records, such as Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Georgia Bell.
Asked how she felt about the meeting being named after her, Hodgkinson said: ‘My team mentioned it to me after Paris and I was like, “Oh, OK”.
‘You don’t really see that very often, especially current athletes. A lot of meets that are named after people tend to be people of the past. So I think it’s quite cool to do something while I am still competing.
‘I’m happy that some of the athletes have backed it and are going to run, which is really exciting. Hopefully this is just the start.’
She was due to race in the 800m at the event, but was forced to pull out following an injury
Hodgkinson will be in attendance at the event, which she wants to become an annual fixture
Hodgkinson’s aim is for the Keely Klassic to become an annual fixture in the athletics calendar and eventually sell out even bigger indoor venues than the 7,000-capacity Utilita Arena.
‘From the success we’ve had with London Diamond League, the UK is known to put on good meets of really good crowds,’ she added. ‘I think when it’s sold to the public, they do want to come.
‘So I don’t see why we can’t get something like this put on in bigger stadiums in the future.’
