Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson ended her season in style by winning the 800 metres at the all-female Athlos meet in New York on Friday evening.
The 23-year-old Briton clocked a time of one minute 56.53 seconds to secure victory at Icahn Stadium, rounding off a year disrupted by a hamstring injury. The performance marked her sixth and final race of the season, and her dominance in the field reaffirmed her position among the world’s leading middle-distance runners.
Fellow British athlete and world silver medallist Georgia Hunter Bell finished second in one minute 58.33 seconds, with St Vincent’s Shafiqua Maloney taking third in one minute 58.57 seconds. Hodgkinson, who also won bronze at the World Championships last month, said she was delighted to end the year on a high note after a challenging season.
The Athlos meet, now in its second year, has quickly become one of the most distinctive events in athletics. Designed as a celebration of women’s sport, it combined elite track competition with a lively festival atmosphere featuring live music, energetic crowds and Tiffany & Co crowns in place of traditional medals.
Adding to the glamour of the evening, tennis legend Serena Williams presented the winners with their crowns. Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, is married to Athlos founder Alexis Ohanian, who created the event to showcase female athletes and raise the profile of women’s sport.
The meet also offered one of the largest prize purses in track and field, with last year’s winners taking home $60,000 (€51,642). This year’s edition attracted some of the biggest names in athletics, including Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, who triumphed in the mile with a time of four minutes 17.78 seconds.
American sprinter Brittany Brown completed an impressive sprint double, winning both the 100 metres and 200 metres events.
For Hodgkinson, the victory provided the perfect conclusion to a demanding year. After battling injury setbacks, she now looks ahead to 2026 with renewed confidence and a reminder of her world-class ability.
