Keely Hodgkinson stood on the track in Silesia on Saturday with the weight of 376 silent days behind her, then tore through the 800 meters in 1:54.74, a world-leading mark and a new meet record. “It’s been a long time – over a year – since Paris,” she admitted before her return. The victory, her first since that Olympic gold medal in 2024, was more than a re-entry. It was the restoration of an athlete who once faced the possibility of never competing at all.

Her road back had been tangled with repeated interruptions. After celebrating Olympic triumph in Paris, she ended her 2024 campaign prematurely due to a minor injury. A more serious setback followed in February 2025 when a hamstring tear forced her out of the inaugural Keely Klassic and denied her a chance at the world indoor re

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