Keely Hodgkinson capped off her 2026 campaign with a commanding win in the women's 800 metres at the Athlos meet in London, unveiling a brand‑new, full‑length hooded speed suit on the track. The 24‑year‑old British middle‑distance star crossed the finish line in 1:56.40, comfortably defending the title she claimed the previous year, even though the event’s other top contenders were absent. The triumph came against a backdrop of recent health setbacks. Over the past two months Hodgkinson has been battling a series of ailments, and an MRI performed earlier this week revealed an "abnormality" in her hamstring.
Despite the lingering concerns, the athlete chose the high‑profile London race to debut the futuristic garment, a collaboration with Nike that blends aerodynamic engineering, fashion sensibility and cutting‑edge textile science. This season the 800m landscape has been reshaped by Switzerland's rising star Audrey Werro, who has overtaken Hodgkinson in the world rankings.
Werro, along with Dutch runner Femke Bol, has been pushing the limits of the event, edging ever closer to the long‑standing world record of 1:53.28 set 43 years ago. While Werro and Bol were not present at StoneX Stadium on Friday, Hodgkinson’s victory still carried symbolic weight, reinforcing her status as a leading figure in a fiercely competitive field. Athlos itself is a women‑only athletics series that debuted in 2023 under the patronage of Reddit co‑founder Alexis Ohanian, husband of tennis legend Serena Williams.
The series aims to celebrate female athletes and bring a heightened sense of spectacle to track and field. Hodgkinson’s appearance in the hooded suit fit perfectly with the event’s emphasis on glamour and visibility. "I’m honoured they let me put this on show.
I was a little nervous walking out. The shades helped me block out the noise, but it was really fun and it’s something I’ll remember forever," Hodgkinson said after the race. She explained that the suit had been in development for roughly a year, involving numerous fittings and consultations with Nike’s innovation team.
"It’s a mix of fashion, speed and science all coming together – maybe the future of athletics," she added. The design sparked comparisons to the iconic look of Australian sprint legend Cathy Freeman, who famously wore a striking outfit when she won the 400 metres at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
Hodgkinson noted that the suit complies with all governing‑body regulations and that she had already tested it during a training camp in South Africa, where temperatures neared 40 °C. "Technically, with the air drag you’re slower with your hair out, but I was like, ‘that’s non‑negotiable – my hair stays out.’ I’m very much ‘look good, feel good,’ and that mental‑physical balance matters to me," she explained. When asked about the possibility of wearing the suit at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Hodgkinson hinted that future regulations might evolve.
"We might know some things that people don’t! It was a test out there. This isn’t something we haven’t seen before – Cathy Freeman and other athletes did something similar, and this is the updated version with new technology," she said. She also expressed admiration for Freeman’s legacy, noting that while Freeman competed before she was born, the visual impact of that historic race inspired her own design choices.
"The style was a big thing for me. I wanted to be comfortable but also feel a little bit sexy; the open back keeps me cool and it almost feels like I’m wearing nothing," Hodgkinson remarked. Earlier in the year, Hodgkinson broke the indoor 800 m world record, fueling hopes that she could also topple the outdoor record set by Czechoslovakian runner Jarmila Kratochvílová in 1983.
That record remains controversial due to allegations of state‑sponsored doping in the former Eastern Bloc, claims that Kratochvílová has consistently denied. Nonetheless, Hodgkinson’s indoor performance demonstrated her capacity to challenge the mark.
The British athlete’s season has been marred by injury, however. She missed the final two Diamond League meetings and disclosed that she suffered a hamstring tear during the European Championships in Birmingham, yet she still completed the race. Hodgkinson explained that her anatomy is unusual: "My body is built differently.
Most people have one tendon, mine is split – I have two – and we’re trying to figure out if that’s a strength or a weakness. When one tore, the other was still intact, so I could keep running, but I felt something was off." She emphasized that the split tendon has forced her to modify training. "I haven’t missed any sessions in the past three weeks, but I’ve had to change my approach.
I’ve taken my foot off the speed work because that’s when the risk is highest," she said. Despite the setbacks, Hodgkinson’s victory in London, coupled with the bold sartorial statement, underscores her resilience and willingness to experiment. As the athletics world looks ahead to the next Olympic cycle, her blend of performance, style and technological curiosity may set a new benchmark for how elite athletes present themselves on the global stage.