Keely Hodgkinson's Keely Klassic dealt major broadcast blow
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Keely Hodgkinson

Keely Hodgkinson's Keely Klassic dealt major broadcast blow

Evans Ousuru 11:13 - 14.02.2025

Keely Hodgkinson's Keely Klassic has been snubbed by a giant broadcaster, eliciting mixed reactions among fans.

Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson has been snubbed by the BBC whih will not be broadcasting her Keely Klassic on its main channel.

Hodgkinson, who was hoping to race for the first time after her 2024 Paris triumph in the Keely Classic on Saturday in an attempt to break the 800m indoor world record, has been left devastated after withdrawing from the event because of an injury.

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The British middle-distance runner was to headline the inaugural event that was set for Birmingham and was bidding to break the world indoor 800m record that has stood since the very day she was born but The BBC Sports Personality of the Year will now be a mere spectator.

According to the Daily Mail, a BBC source insisted the broadcaster was not snubbing the Keely Klassic but supporting it by streaming it on iPlayer, adding that not everything can be shown on linear TV.

The 4:30 pm race will now be streamed on BBC iPlayer. This means at that time, there's a repeat of the film Malcom's List on BBC Two. Malcom's List was recently shown on the Beeb in October.

BBC One will be showing repeats of Escape to the Country and Blue Planet II at the time of the Keely Klassic, before Final Score.

The Beeb’s decision to relegate the new indoor athletics event to its digital platforms will likely illicit mixed reactions.

Hodgkinson’s Olympic final last August was the BBC’s most watched event of Paris 2024, with 9.1million viewers tuning in to see her become Britain’s first 800m gold medallist since Kelly Holmes in 2004.

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