Hodgkinson can shake-up the athletics landscape as Keely Klassic heralds brave new era for our sport
Keely Hodgkinson hopes to bring new fans to athletics with her new venture (Picture: Getty Images) This year is shaping up to be a big one in track and field and not just for the usual reasons – a world championships and the Diamond League circuit – but because of the innovations coming into athletics during 2025. In the UK, we have one of our best-loved and talented athletes leading the way and, in my opinion, she deserves our backing to make a success of a new venture this month. Keely Hodgkinson – who shares the same training centre as me in Manchester – is trying something different by introducing the Keely Klassic into the calendar, with her attempt on the world indoor 800metres record among the main highlights of the day on February 15. The Olympic 800m champion’s maiden event as organiser will take place indoors in Birmingham and I really get that she is trying to make use of the profile she has gained in rising to Paris gold medallist by attempting to find a new audience for track and field and broaden its appeal among sports fans in this country and hopefully beyond. It feels like a good fit for Keely. Not only is she popular among team-mates and fans alike but she has the personality to reach out to the mainstream and convert even more people to athletics with what is a new addition to the circuit. The event also feels like the right thing for her too – especially while she is as hot as she can be right now in visibility terms. An Olympic gold medal speaks volumes and invites plenty of attention and limelight. What she’s trying to do, in going beyond her usual confines as an athlete to embark on something bigger, is exactly what we need our athletes to be doing, to keep the sport visible at a time when it does need a bit of an extra push. Keely has said she wants to create ‘an atmosphere that fuses the intensity of world-class sport with the energy and excitement of live entertainment’. The combination of tradition and a more modern form of entertainment and music should be a winning one. There is also talk we’ll run without bibs on. I have been confirmed to run at the Keely Klassic over 1,000m and I intend to embrace the excitement around the event while of course also trying to reclaim my UK indoor record over the distance. Keely is aiming to maximise the walkout with your own music to come out to, encouraging you to dance or put across your true persona, and it should be fun. I’ll probably come out to Remember Me by Blue Boy – not just because it may have something obvious the fans can identify with me in the title but also as it is one of my favourite songs. Keely Hodgkinson’s Olympic gold medal gives her a platform to use for the benefit of athletics (Picture: Getty Images) As an athlete, it’s the sort of thing you just have to get into the spirit of. We can’t stand still and just do what we’ve always done in the sport. Innovation is key for me. I obviously had plenty of time to watch track and field while I was out injured last year and I realise myself that we have to work on the way they are put across, so it’s great to see someone, a current British athlete too like Keely getting involved in wanting to move that forward. There is a loyal fanbase for the sport in the UK but we need more ideas to get people, and not just the diehard supporters, into athletics. There is no better person to be the face of that at the moment than Keely. She is very relatable for a lot of people. There’s nothing wrong with a sport like ours having a loyal following but there’s also no danger in trying something new and setting out to attract the casual supporter. That is also something Michael Johnson will set out to do as he unleashes his Grand Slam Track competition this year. Meanwhile, for me, the indoor season has become increasingly important after missing the Paris Games with a hamstring injury. I will race in Birmingham, then at the British trials and finally, hopefully, the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn. I’m just looking forward to more racing. I began the year by winning my first Scottish indoor title in ten years over 3,000m – a fact everyone has been reminding me about! I’ve settled in Manchester and also been away for warm-weather training in South Africa, aiming to make up for lost time. It is an important year ahead but one with some significant opportunities and I wish Keely all the best with her exciting project. ArrowMORE: Premier League Darts schedule, format, fixtures, prize money, TV channel and times ArrowMORE: Eddie Howe reveals Newcastle United targeted two Arsenal players in Carabao Cup win ArrowMORE: Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou and Jordan Henderson may feel media is the enemy but we all have bad days at work
This year is shaping up to be a big one in track and field and not just for the usual reasons – a world championships and the Diamond League circuit – but because of the innovations coming into athletics during 2025.
In the UK, we have one of our best-loved and talented athletes leading the way and, in my opinion, she deserves our backing to make a success of a new venture this month.
Keely Hodgkinson – who shares the same training centre as me in Manchester – is trying something different by introducing the Keely Klassic into the calendar, with her attempt on the world indoor 800metres record among the main highlights of the day on February 15.
The Olympic 800m champion’s maiden event as organiser will take place indoors in Birmingham and I really get that she is trying to make use of the profile she has gained in rising to Paris gold medallist by attempting to find a new audience for track and field and broaden its appeal among sports fans in this country and hopefully beyond.
It feels like a good fit for Keely. Not only is she popular among team-mates and fans alike but she has the personality to reach out to the mainstream and convert even more people to athletics with what is a new addition to the circuit.
The event also feels like the right thing for her too – especially while she is as hot as she can be right now in visibility terms. An Olympic gold medal speaks volumes and invites plenty of attention and limelight. What she’s trying to do, in going beyond her usual confines as an athlete to embark on something bigger, is exactly what we need our athletes to be doing, to keep the sport visible at a time when it does need a bit of an extra push.
Keely has said she wants to create ‘an atmosphere that fuses the intensity of world-class sport with the energy and excitement of live entertainment’. The combination of tradition and a more modern form of entertainment and music should be a winning one. There is also talk we’ll run without bibs on.
I have been confirmed to run at the Keely Klassic over 1,000m and I intend to embrace the excitement around the event while of course also trying to reclaim my UK indoor record over the distance. Keely is aiming to maximise the walkout with your own music to come out to, encouraging you to dance or put across your true persona, and it should be fun.
I’ll probably come out to Remember Me by Blue Boy – not just because it may have something obvious the fans can identify with me in the title but also as it is one of my favourite songs.
As an athlete, it’s the sort of thing you just have to get into the spirit of. We can’t stand still and just do what we’ve always done in the sport. Innovation is key for me.
I obviously had plenty of time to watch track and field while I was out injured last year and I realise myself that we have to work on the way they are put across, so it’s great to see someone, a current British athlete too like Keely getting involved in wanting to move that forward.
There is a loyal fanbase for the sport in the UK but we need more ideas to get people, and not just the diehard supporters, into athletics. There is no better person to be the face of that at the moment than Keely. She is very relatable for a lot of people.
There’s nothing wrong with a sport like ours having a loyal following but there’s also no danger in trying something new and setting out to attract the casual supporter.
That is also something Michael Johnson will set out to do as he unleashes his Grand Slam Track competition this year.
Meanwhile, for me, the indoor season has become increasingly important after missing the Paris Games with a hamstring injury. I will race in Birmingham, then at the British trials and finally, hopefully, the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn.
I’m just looking forward to more racing. I began the year by winning my first Scottish indoor title in ten years over 3,000m – a fact everyone has been reminding me about!
I’ve settled in Manchester and also been away for warm-weather training in South Africa, aiming to make up for lost time. It is an important year ahead but one with some significant opportunities and I wish Keely all the best with her exciting project.
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