Bobby GavinOlympic 800 metre champion Keely Hodgkinson has told STV News she is set to skip the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer due to a packed competition schedule.
The Games are due to kick off in Glasgow on July 23 and run until August 2 with the European Championships taking place in Birmingham just eight days later.
Hodgkinson who recently broke the world indoor 800m record said: ‘I’m currently not going to be competing [at the Commonwealths in Glasgow].
Bobby Gavin“I love competing in front of a home crowd but it’s such a busy year with Europeans and the Worlds and I’ve done that many championships before in a year and it is a lot.
“I just had to decide on which one was best for me but I’ll definitely be supporting.”
The 23-year-old, who won silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, was speaking after setting a personal best in the 400m (51.49) at the Scottish Athletics Indoor Invitational in Glasgow on Sunday.
Also in action was her training partner and Olympic bronze medallist Georgia Hunter Bell with the duo helping to attract 1,000 passionate fans to the Emirates Arena.
Hunter Bell ran in the 800m race finishing first with a time of 1:57.80 – the fastest time ever ran by a woman in Scotland over that distance indoors – and confirmed she will be returning to Glasgow this summer for the Commonwealth Games.
Bobby GavinShe said: “I cannot wait. My first ever team I made was the World Indoors in Glasgow [2024], so this track is really special to me and this home crowd. I definitely will be at the Commonwealth Games.
“I’m not sure what distance I’ll run. I’m still undecided, one or the other [800m or the mile]. We’re going to decide as the season goes on.”
Next up for Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell is the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland at the end of the month where the pair will be aiming to bring back medals in the 800m and 1,500m respectively.
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