Hodgkinson runs 1:56.40 in black speed suit to win Athlos London 800m
Keely Hodgkinson won the 800m at Athlos London in 1 minute 56.40 seconds on 18 September at StoneX Stadium. It was her first win since the London Diamond League in July. She did it in front of a sellout crowd.
She ran brave from the front. Hodgkinson, the Olympic champion, passed the bell in 57.53 seconds and kept pushing through the second lap to finish more than two seconds clear. That improved her own meeting record, according to World Athletics.
You could not miss her kit. She wore a custom-made, full-body, all-black aerodynamic speed suit with an open back and a hood with a ponytail opening. The suit used colour-changing 3D-printed nodes designed to cut drag, as reported by BBC Sport.
The win mattered after a difficult August. Switzerland's Audrey Werro had beaten Hodgkinson to the European 800m title on 14 August. In London, over two laps of the track, Hodgkinson looked back in charge.
She was not the only star to deliver. Sha'Carri Richardson won the 100m in 10.80 seconds. Gabby Thomas took the 200m in 22.13 seconds, with Kayla White second in 22.40 and Anavia Battle third in 22.43. Poland's Klaudia Kazimierska won the mile in 4 minutes 19.43 seconds, beating Britain's Georgia Hunter Bell.
Athlos is different. It is an all-female meet created by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. This was only its third staging and its first outside New York. The single-night programme in London featured seven disciplines, 100m hurdles, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, mile and long jump, with six athletes in each.
The money is serious. Each winner earned $65,000 (£48,500), from a total prize pot of $1.05m (£790,500). Pay went deep, from $35,000 for second down to $6,000 for sixth, and eligible athletes also receive equity in Athlos, whose athlete stakeholders include Thomas, Sha'Carri Richardson and Tara Davis-Woodhall, according to Athlos. There were no medals. Winners were presented with a silver Tiffany & Co crown.
What makes this stand out is the mix. Fast times. Big prizes. A packed stand. For fans, this means a short, sharp night where every race counts and the 800m queen is running fast again.
