'Paris was just the start' - Trevor Painter reflects on coaching Keely Hodgkinson to Olympic greatness

The Briton middle-distance runner's coach has revealed the strategic advice that helped Keely Hodgkinson secure her Olympic gold.

Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson was the star of the Paris Games cementing her place in British athletics history with her stunning gold-medal performance.

Yet her coach, Trevor Painter, believes the victory could have been even more emphatic if she had matched the blazing form she displayed earlier in the season.

Painter, who has guided Hodgkinson’s rise from a promising junior to global champion, reflected on the journey that led to her golden moment.

Speaking at Sportcity in Manchester, Painter detailed the strategic approach behind her triumph, crediting the meticulous planning that helped Hodgkinson overcome both physical and mental challenges on the Olympic stage.

“Paris, on paper, went well - but it could have gone better,” Painter admitted as per Manchester Evening News.

“We wanted to run fast in London like she did because that would put a marker down and everyone would say, ‘Oh, well, she’s going to win. We’re not going to run that sort of time.’”

Hodgkinson had set the athletics world alight just weeks before the Olympics, smashing the British record with a time of 1:54.61 at the London Diamond League, the sixth-fastest time ever recorded for the women’s 800m.

Despite not replicating that pace in Paris, the 22-year-old held her nerve when it mattered most, delivering a tactically astute race to secure the gold.

“She only went 58 [seconds] through the first lap which let other people have a chance,” Painter explained.

“The next 200 metres were interesting. It looked close until 150 metres to go, and then in the last 120 [metres], she started to pull away, and that’s when I could relax.”

Hodgkinson’s triumph marked the first track gold for Great Britain since Mo Farah’s double in Rio 2016 and ended her streak as a perennial runner-up.

Prior to the Paris Games, she had collected three major silver medals: at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the World Championships in both 2022 and 2023.

The Atherton-born athlete’s path to glory was not without its hurdles.

Fatigue from a demanding semi-final run of 1:56.86, combined with the lack of a customary rest day between races, posed challenges that required a measured approach.

“We usually get a day off between the semi and final, so I think that got her in her head a little,” Painter revealed.

“As it was an Olympic final, there were a few more nerves.”

To counter the pressure, Painter and his wife Jenny Meadows, a retired Olympian and Hodgkinson’s co-coach, emphasized simplicity and focus.

“After the semi-final, she said, ‘I want to put on a show tomorrow in the final.’ And we said, ‘Let’s just win the gold - don’t put on a show.’”

The strategy paid off, with Hodgkinson crossing the line in 1:56.72 to claim the top spot on the podium.

The victory was not only a personal milestone but also cemented her status as one of Britain’s greatest athletes, earning her the 2024 British Sportswoman of the Year award and making her a strong contender for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year next month.

“She loves the limelight,” Painter said.

“She wants to finish as a legend and win as many awards as possible.”

Hodgkinson, currently training in South Africa, is already looking ahead to defending her 800m world title in Tokyo in 2025, the site of her first Olympic medal.

If her Paris performance is anything to go by the best may still be yet to come.