She’s just secured the silver medal in the women’s 800m final at Tokyo 2020 – and shocked viewers after shouting ‘what the f***?’ into the stands following her win.
But while Keely Hodgkinson no doubt had a strenuous training regime ahead of the Olympics, you’d be forgiven if you momentarily forgot that while looking at her social media presence.
The athlete, 19, from Wigan, regularly delights her 45,700 Instagram fans with updates from her stylish lifestyle – filled with jaunts abroad, from Portugal and Italy to Dubai, alongside lavish cocktail evenings.
Keely broke Kelly Holmes’ long-standing British record and became Team GB‘s first Olympic medallist in the event since Athens 2004 with a sublime display today.
The teenager clocked one minute 55.88 seconds to smash Kelly’s mark of 1.56.21 minutes, which had stood since 1995. The gold medal went to the impressive Athing Mu – the American athlete and hot favourite in a time of 1:55.21.
Throughout this year, Keely has impressed her followers with candid snaps from her holidays, in which the fashionable athlete is often bikini-clad while posing on a beach.
Alongside the photos, which appear to be throwbacks in some examples, is an array of images from her fun-filled nights out.
Showcasing her stylish prowess, Keely dons glamorous figure-hugging ensembles – including in one picture, a trendy cream midi dress, sporting a cut-out back.
She teamed the look with beige high heels and a black clutch bag, while sleeking her hair back in a ponytail.
Emotional Keely has insisted she is ready for the spotlight and knows her stunning 800 metres Olympic silver medal will change her life.
‘I’m ready, that’s what I’ve dreamed of. I want to do this. I want to be one of the best in the world. I’m going to do everything I can to be that,’ said the athlete, after winning Team GB’s first athletics medal of the Games.
‘I’m just going to keep on doing what I’m doing. Don’t fix something if it’s not broken. What I’ve been doing the last year has got me to this point.
‘I’m going to carry on doing it. If you don’t enjoy it everything becomes pressurised and hard work. As long as I keep doing what I’m doing and stay injury free, hopefully there will be many more moments like this.
‘In the past two years the support around me has brought me on, kept me relaxed and I have taken every aspect of this experience with me. I just wanted to go on this track and execute. This is what I want to do, be one of the best in the world.
‘I am speechless right now. Kelly is a massive legend of the sport and always be with that double Olympic gold. She seems so lovely and has been sending me messages the last few days being very supportive. I am quite in shock about that time, but I couldn’t be happier.”
The teenager will also treat herself to a rare night out to celebrate, adding: You’ll catch me in the club. One guilt-free night out before I finish the season.’
Keely – who was unable to run at all in her early teens due to a tumour which has left her deaf in one ear – burst clear of the other medal contenders during today’s race.
And she couldn’t believe what she’d done, so much so that she was left speechless when she spoke to her trainer after the race.
The words ‘what the f***!’ was the best that she could muster as she took the Union Jack flag from the stands to celebrate.
Viewers were left delighted for Keely and some on social media loved her reaction to winning the silver.
@EmmaGallagher17 wrote: ‘Did anyone else hear @keelyhodgkinson say “what the f***” on the BBC?! Well done Keelie – you say f*** as many times as you want, girl!’.
Another user posted: ‘Keely Hodgkinson with the “What the f***!” live on the BBC after her silver in the 800m’ with a laughing emoji.
@AstroJake commented: ‘Keely Hodgkinson saying “what the f***” on the BBC, I live. 19 years old, PB, new British record and silver in the 800m!!!!’.
Keely, studying criminology at Leeds Beckett University, has gone from virtually unknown at the start to the podium in Tokyo.
In January she ran 1:59.03 in an 800m race in Vienna to become the fastest woman under 20 at the distance indoors.
A month later she became the youngest British European Indoor champion for over 50 years after winning the 800m in Torun.
Keely is not funded by British Athletics as, amid the coronavirus pandemic, they did not add anyone further onto the World Class Performance Programme in 2020.
She has been backed by Barrie Wells, a millionaire businessman and philanthropist who has previously helped fund 18 athletes, including Jessica Ennis-Hill and Katarina Johnson-Thompson, to the London 2012 Olympics.
Wells had promised her the chance to drive an Aston Martin if she had made the final
Two months after giving birth, Serena Williams has said ‘I do’ in an intimate wedding ceremony, to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in front of a bevy of famous friends and family.
Yesterday afternoon, the pair married in the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Centre, surrounded by around 250 guests including the likes of Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Kim Kardashian, Tina Knowles, Eva Longoria, Kelly Rowland and Ciara, reports the Daily Mail.
According to The Telegraph, an entire block in the city was closed to traffic, with a stream of black SUVs spotted ferrying members of the wedding part to the event.
On arrival, guests were reportedly welcomed with drinks to the Beauty and the Beast-themed nuptialsto the sound of the film’s famous song ‘Be Our Guest’.
The tennis champion’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou wished Serena a ‘happy wedding day’ on Instagram, amid reports the wedding cost more than $1m (£760,000).
The Mail adds that members of R&B group New Edition played a five-song set during the reception. Meanwhile, table settings were named after Williams’ 12 grand slam titles and guests’ party favours were recreations of the trophies she received for each corresponding title.
A source claims Serena wore not one but two dresses for occasion, while Kim Kardashian was seen dressed in a demure black strappy dress and her blonde hair scraped back into a low ponytail.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z cut their holiday on board a yacht in Miami for the festivities, with the rapper/producer having to jet off to North Carolina shortly after the nuptials to perform at his next tour stop.
The 36-year-old tennis star and her husband welcomed their first child together, daughter Alexis Olympia, on 1 September and announced their engagement over a year ago after meeting in Rome in 2015.
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