Keely Hodgkinson has withdrawn from this week's Diamond League event in Zurich where she had been set to feature in a blockbuster 800 metres showdown.
The 24-year-old was due to race against Audrey Werro, who narrowly beat her to European gold earlier this month, as well as in-form fellow Briton Georgia Hunter Bell, who recently took the 1500m title in Birmingham.
But Hodgkinson said in a short statement: “Unfortunately the body isn’t quite ready to race again after the European Championships. We’ve made the decision to skip this race and get ready for the next one, sad to miss it, hopefully see you next year!”
Werro beat Hodgkinson by two tenths of a second in the European final in Birmingham – snapping a championship record that had stood since 1982 in the process – as she crossed the line in one minute 54.81 seconds.
But despite the defeat, Hodgkinson had relished the chance to take on the world’s best again in Zurich.
As well as Werro, who has gone unbeaten throughout the outdoor season, and Hunter Bell, the field also originally included European bronze medallist Femke Broeders-Bol and world champion Lilian Odira.
The latter also pulled out of the event on Monday, citing medical advice in her statement on Instagram.
Hailing the dawning of a generational women’s 800 metres cohort, Hodgkinson said earlier this month: “I hope everyone enjoys watching the level of athletes that we have because that’s difficult to come across in generations.”
She added: “I signed myself up for Zurich because I knew everyone was in it but me.
“I want to be in with the best and I think that’s going to bring out the best in me.
“There’s no point in me going to a race and time-trailling at the front. The more fun is when you’ve got everyone together, everyone’s going at it and you don’t know which way it’s going to go.”
Hodgkinson has battled numerous injuries over the last two years.
She struggled with a hamstring issue throughout 2025 and also suffered a setback when she sustained a knee injury in a freak accident in June.
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