HODGKINSON SPURRED ON BY SILVER WOES IN BID FOR GOLD

Keely Hodgkinson says the pain of her world and Commonwealth silvers is fuelling her battle through end-of-season fatigue as she targets a longawaited gold at the European Championships. The Olympic silver medallist waltzed through her 800m heat as a time of 2:03.72 fired her into tonight’s semi-finals.

Hodgkinson, inset, fell short of gold medals at this summer’s World Championships and Commonwealth Games as she went down against American star Athing Mu and Kenyan Mary Moraa in both Eugene and Birmingham.

And after watching British team-mate Matt Hudson-smith follow up his bronze and silvers with 400m gold to ‘complete the set’ on Wednesday night, Hodgkinson, 20, is hellbent on doing the same in Munich this weekend.

She said: “This time of the year when you’re a bit tired and fatigued, I need a challenge to get myself up and make me really feel good.

“I’m not glad I got the silvers, because I really wish I got gold, but I’m ready to come here and really fight for that gold. I can tell this is going to be a little bit harder [than the Worlds and Commonwealths] – more just mentally. I can tell my body’s a bit tired. I just need to get through the rounds and hopefully come away with a nice shiny gold.”

The north-west star is trying to manage her workload ahead of upcoming Diamond League events but admits climbing to the top of the podium is her number one priority.

She added: “It's definitely an important championships for me, and I've got a big few weeks ahead, so I'm just trying to conserve energy and get through these rounds as easily as I can.”