UK Athletics Championships 2026: Keely Hodgkinson pulls out of 400m final

A tearful Keely Hodgkinson withdrew from the 400 meters final at the British Athletics Championships minutes before Sunday’s race after feeling “a bit of pain”.

The Olympic 800-meter champion is racing over a shorter distance in a bid to improve her first-lap speed and challenge the 800-meter world record this summer.

The 24-year-old player, who completed the qualifying rounds after Saturday’s qualifiers, warmed up for the final in Birmingham, but left his lane shortly before the finalists were among the top five.

Hodgkinson was emotional as he stood trackside before heading back to Alexander Stadium.

The BBC’s commentary team later received a message from Hodgkinson’s coach, Jenny Meadows, saying that he had withdrawn from the race “because he felt a little pain in his final steps before the race”.

Hodgkinson later added: “I didn’t feel like I had 100% standing on the starting line, so I made the tough decision to withdraw from the race and not race. I didn’t want to risk anything this summer.”

Hodgkinson suffered an injury in 2025 but still managed to win bronze at the World Championships in September, with her British teammate Georgia Hunter Bell claiming silver.

His withdrawal on Sunday came four weeks before the London Diamond League meeting, which he booked to break the world record that had stood for 43 years.

Amber Anning He earned a postponement after a false start in the 400 meters but the world indoor champion rebounded to defend his title by winning in a time of 50.16 seconds.

Minutes before Hodgkinson’s withdrawal, his friend and rival Georgia Hunter’s Bell She defended her 800 meters championship and won in 1 minute 55.93 seconds, breaking the championship record set by Kelly Holmes in 1995.