Tokyo: Georgia Hunter Bell led Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson to a British medal double in the world 800m final – but their bid for a stunning one-two was spoiled by Kenya’s Lilian Odira in Tokyo. Hunter Bell continued her fairytale return to the sport she had quit for five years by edging training partner Hodgkinson to second, 0.28 seconds behind Odira who claimed gold in a championship record one minute 54.62 seconds.
According to BBC, while Hodgkinson had set her sights on a first world title following successive silvers before her triumph at Paris 2024, bronze represented a remarkable achievement at the end of a season devastated by injury setbacks. On Sunday, they became gold medal rivals and ended up locked together – almost inseparable – as they threw themselves across the line.
Ultimately, it was Hunter Bell – having had a full season to build towards this moment – who was able to summon the final effort required for silver after Odira had made her way past in the closing stages to achieve her first global medal of any colour.
