Nothing it seems can stop Keely

Nothing it seems can keep Briton Keely Hodgkinson, the reigning Olympic champion down.

Three hamstring injuries over a nine-month period and an absence of more than a year from the running circuit seems to be just a minor hiccup for Keely.

Keely had not raced for 376 days before taking to the start line for the 800m at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia, her first race since winning the Olympic gold in Paris.

She stunned the field with a world-leading 1:54.74, more than a second clear at the top of the world list, and the ninth-fastest run by anyone in history.

That time is close to her personal best of of 1:54.61, and if she can reproduce the form at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo., the gold is as good as hers.

Her biggest rival will be teammate Georgia Hunter Bell who, had opted for the 800m over the 1500m, despite being the Olympic bronze medallist over the longer distance.

Georgia is third quickest athlete in the world this year over 800m and at the the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm she edged out reigning world champion Mary Moraa for the gold.

Kenya’s Moraa is still in the medal mix for the 800m in Tokyo, though her season’s best of 1:57.83 puts her 16th on this year’s world list, and she finished a distant ninth at the Prefontaine Classic in July, in what was her last outing over the distance.

The British duo will likely be challenged in their hopes for a 1-2 by Audrey Werro, a rising star in her native Switzerland who is sandwiched between Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell on the 2025 world list.

She won the European U23 title in convincing fashion, then won the Swiss title with a PB of 1:56.29 – a time she improved further when winning the Diamond League Final in 1:55.91 ahead of Hunter Bell.

Prudence Sekgodiso, who won the World Indoor Championships in March with a PB of 1:57.16 and Olympic silver medallist Tsige Duguma, the world indoor champion in 2024 are the other runners to watch.

Other potential protagonists include Kenya’s Lilian Odira, who was second to Hodgkinson in Silesia, Botswana’s Oratile Nowe, who has reduced her own national record to 1:56.76, and European bronze medallist Anais Bourgoin of France.

Meanwhile, the men’s 800m is expected to ring in a young and exciting rivalry for a crop of talented athletes.

Thirteen athletes, including the Olympic champion, the defending world champion have dipped below 1:43 this year, making the race all the more enchanting.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi, the Olympic champion, owns the three fastest times in the world this year, topped by his world-leading 1:41.44 in Monaco. Having won five of his last six races, he will be buoyant heading into Tokyo after retaining his Diamond League title in Zurich.

The 21-year-old Kenyan will have to contend withMarco Arop, who denied him gold in Budapest two years ago.

Arop has had a mixed season and has only beaten Wanyonyi once, at the Kingston Grand Slam Track back in May. The long-striding Canadian was third in the Diamond League Final and has a season’s best of 1:42.22, set when finishing second to Wanyonyi in London.

Olympic bronze medallist Djamel Sedjati has raced only five times this year, but his 1:42.20 clocking in Monaco makes him the third-fastest entrant.

Donavan Brazier, who was undefeated at 800m from June 2019 to May 2021, won the US Championships in 1:42.16, chopping 0.18 off the PB he ran to win the 2019 world title.

The 28-year-old is joined on the US team by teenage sensation Cooper Lutkenhaus. The 16-year-old smashed his lifetime best to finish second in a world U18 best of 1:42.27, moving him up to 18th on the senior world all-time list and earning selection for the World Championships.

Great Britain’s Max Burgin very nearly beat Wanyonyi at the recent Diamond League Final. Last year he set a PB of 1:43.50 to qualify for the Olympic final, but he has kicked on since then and this year he has produced the four fastest times of his career, topped by a PB of 1:42.36 in London.

Botswana’s Tshepiso Masalela won back-to-back Diamond League races in Doha and Rabat at the start of the season, setting a personal best of 1:42.70 at the latter. More recently, the world and Olympic finalist finished fifth in the Diamond League Final.

Other contenders include Spanish record-holder Mohamed Attaoui, winner of the Paris Diamond League meeting, 2024 world indoor champion Bryce Hoppel, Oceanian record-holder Peter Bol of Australia, and NACAC champion Handal Roban of St Vincent and the Grenadines.