Keely Hodgkinson left shocked by Sir Mo Farah’s private message after World Championships
Sir Mo Farah left Keely Hodgkinson gobsmacked with his message following her bronze medal at the World Athletics Championship
Sir Mo Farah underlined his class by sending an encouraging message to Keely Hodgkinson after the 800m sensation’s showing at the World Championships. Hodgkinson was forced to settle for bronze in Tokyo in September, a year after claiming Olympic gold in Paris.
Nevertheless, it represented a triumph of sorts for the 23-year-old, who had battled through an injury-plagued year following her success in the French capital. Her display in Japan and journey back to full fitness impressed London 2012 legend Farah, who took the time to send Hodgkinson a voice message praising what she accomplished in the Far East.
During a behind-the-scenes training session video on her YouTube channel, Hodgkinson was captioned receiving the unexpected but appreciated message from the distance running icon. “From Sir Mo Farah, the GOAT,” she remarked while checking her phone.
“I had no idea he was going to send it to voice note,” she chuckled before playing the message. Farah can be heard saying: “I know you wanted to win the gold because that’s who you are but to come away with what you did is an absolutely incredible achievement in my opinion.”
The training footage was recorded before she travelled to New York to compete in the women-only Athlos meeting, where she claimed victory in the 800m in one minute and 56.53 seconds in just her sixth event of the year.
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Georgia Hunter Bell, a fellow Brit and training partner, came in second, 1.8 seconds behind Hodgkinson, who said: “I’ve barely raced this season so it was probably less of a struggle for me to go out there and want to give it something.”
After a challenging 2025, both Hodgkinson and British athletics are looking forward to a more successful 2026, with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and European Championships in Birmingham being the main events.
UK Athletics performance director Paula Dunn conceded that it was “time to reset” after Team GB failed to secure a gold medal at a World Championships for the first time since 2003. The British team finished 21st in the Tokyo medal table, securing five podium finishes, including Hodgkinson’s bronze.
“I can definitely say it was a mixed bag,” Dunn admitted. “There were some good points, but it’s a time to reset.
“We will be speaking to all the coaches and all the athletes. Standards are rising. We’ve been really unlucky with the injuries. We did have good fortune in Paris. We just didn’t have it here.
“But we are where we are. Obviously people are disappointed, but it’s a year one of the cycle, and if you’re going to have a disappointing one then this is the one to have, to be fair.”
On Hodgkinson, he added: “Keely could quite easily have not come. When I spoke to her in April, when she wasn’t training, I suggested, because she’s had two massive years, and we have to remember she’s only 23 years old, did she want to miss it?
“And she said ‘absolutely not.’ For her to come and put her reputation and everything on the line, to run unwell, with minimal races, in that sort of environment, is amazing.”
