Keely Hodgkinson beat ‘bone-crushing’ illness & was unable to WALK before bagging Olympic gold & Sports Personality vote
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PUNCHING the air as she crossed the finish line this summer, athlete Keely Hodgkinson not only made history but changed her life forever. The 22-year-old scooped the Olympic 800-metre gold in August in Paris and became the first Brit woman since Jessica Ennis-Hill to claim a gold in athletics since London 2012.
![[Keely Hodgkinson wears the crown after winning the 800m final in Paris]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/keely-hodgkinson-says-cemented-history-922974151.jpg?strip=all&w=685)
It’s the first Olympic victory for Keely, who previously revealed how winning three silver medals in successive years - starting at Tokyo 2020 - left her “gutted” as she longed for more. And this summer's triumph changed the young athletic superstar’s life forever - with an expert predicting to The Sun that she could be given a damehood, become a millionaire by next year and be flooded with branding offers.
![[The star promises to be the darling of fashion brands]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/NINTCHDBPICT000922971439.jpg?strip=all&w=768)
It's also made her a favourite to life the SPOTY prize tonight - batting off contenders Luke Littler, Joe Root, Alex Yee, Sarah Storey and Jude Bellingham. Keely crossed the finish line with a time of 1:56.72, beating Ethiopia’s Tsige Dugma and long-term rival Mary Moraa, of Kenya, by around half a second.
![[Keely has overcome childhood illness to become an Olympic champ]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/NINTCHDBPICT000922971434.jpg?strip=all&w=719)
It was the first 8O0m Olympic win for a British female since Dame Kelly Holmes, two decades ago. After her win, Keely said: “I have really grown over the last couple of years and this year was the year where you could really tell that I had tried to make that step up.”.
![[Dad Dean crowns his daughter as proud mum Rachel looks on]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/keely-hodgkinson-great-britain-receives-922987506.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
