When it comes to the women’s 800 metres, Athing Mu wins gold and Keely Hodgkinson comes in second.
K. Hodgkinson Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
The next decade of women’s middle distance running was played out in the span of two minutes on Tuesday night in the Olympic stadium, during the women’s 800m final.
Athing Mu of the United States won the event in 1 minute, 55.21 seconds, while Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain finished a close second in 1 minute, 55.88 seconds.
They’re both 19 years old. They’ve broken the national record, too! Mu shaved off four tenths of a second off Ajee Wilson’s 2017 record, while Hodgkinson bested a mark established by Kelly Holmes, who was born six years before Mu.
With her new time, Mu moves up to 11th place all-time among women and Hodgkinson drops to 26th. Sometimes afterward, they reverted back to their normal, youthful appearance, speech, and behaviour.
Mu laughed uncontrollably as the MC read off her list of accomplishments at the beginning of her press conference.
Hodgkinson expressed a desire to spend one “guilt-free night in a club,” preferably “in one of the expensive seats at Old Trafford,” and expressed a desire to see her idol, Tom Daley, in the athletes’ village before the week is up.
You wouldn’t have Guessed their lack of Experience out on the track.
The halftime break saw Mu take the lead, which they would not relinquish. She claimed she was trying to not only get out in front, but also to position herself to respond effectively to the moves of the other competitors.
Throughout the marathon, she remained alert to her surroundings, ready to take action if necessary. Having taken the initiative after the break, I was able to focus on my game without being distracted by the goings-on around me.
Teammate Jemma Reekie gave it her all on the final round but slipped to fourth as seventh-placed Raevyn Rogers of the United States came charging up to claim bronze behind Hodgkinson.
Rogers came close, but Hodgkinson held on to win Great Britain’s first athletics medal of the week and the country’s first medal in a middle-distance event since Holmes won two gold medals at Athens in 2004.
To her, breaking the record was more important than winning a medal. She then said, “I believe that record has lasted since 1995, and Kelly is a legend in the sport.”
Within the Past few weeks, Holmes had been in Touch with her.
It’s wonderful to have someone like her who has such faith in me and has sent me numerous texts full of advice and encouragement.
Her season has progressed more rapidly than her final kick. Just like Mu, Hodgkinson’s goal from the previous winter was to participate in the European Juniors this summer. It’s been a hectic nine months, to say the least.
They’ve also been keeping tabs on one other’s Development.
Mu watched as Hodgkinson established a new junior indoor world record in February, and then she herself set a new mark just a few weeks later.
“There’s crazy that it’s not just one 19-year-old in the race, but two, hopefully it makes for a good competitive 10, 15, years ahead, with even quicker timings on the horizon,” Hodgkinson said.
“We both have prosperous futures ahead of us, and there will undoubtedly be many more battles. We were simply trying to put up a good show tonight, and it paid off with a one-two finish, which is quite good for girls our age. There are many who say I’m too young, but age really is just a number.
I Totally Agree with that,” Mu Remarked.
That’s something new I did this year, at least I like to think so. Previously, I would tell myself, “I still have a long life ahead of me, so there’s always later,” but this year, I’ve been telling myself, “I can do this, no matter my age or the people I’m up against.”
So, how intense is this competition, exactly? “Maybe a little,” Mu mused. We’re just going to push each other to get better,” Keely said after I told her, “Hmmm, I need that” because of her breaking the U20 indoor record.
Despite the fact that we live on opposite sides of the world, I have been inspired by her success and have been working hard to achieve similar results in my own field. To watch someone your own age succeed at something gives you hope that it’s achievable for you, too.
They felt like they Could Conquer Anything after a Night like this.
Everything that lay in their future—the difficulties, the pressure, the expectation, the renown, the injury, the loss—seemed so far away, so improbable.
Even though you know it’s highly unlikely, you still secretly want things stay this way for the pair. However, at least for the time being, everything else can wait.
Hodgkinson proclaimed, “Life is good,” before breaking into a hearty chuckle. In other words, “Everything is OK.”
