World Athletics Championships: Keely Hodgkinson makes winning start in bid for first world 800m title

Great Britain’s Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson began her pursuit of a first world title by cruising through to the semi-finals of the women’s 800m in Tokyo.

Hodgkinson is the gold-medal favourite after running a world-leading time on her return to action in August, despite enduring a 376-day wait to make her competitive return following last summer’s Games.

Two hamstring tears later, she secured back-to-back wins in her only two pre-championship races in August.

Returning to the stadium where she won Olympic silver as a teenager four years ago, the 23-year-old controlled her heat to reach Friday’s semi-finals.

There, she will be joined by training partner Georgia Hunter Bell as the pair target a spectacular British one-two in the event.

“I don’t like the rounds, they feel awful, they are awful. I just really wanted to enjoy being back in the stadium. It’s so nice to be here,” Hodgkinson told BBC Sport.

“It wasn’t pretty or dominant, but it’s nice to be safely through. It’s been a long week waiting around. Whoever put the 800m last, thank you.

“I’ve just been looking forward to getting out here, at one point I didn’t even know if I’d be here. It definitely means a lot, round by round I’m hoping it goes my way.

“It would mean even more than last year [to win]. I’m just trying to embrace it all.”