Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson revealed through an MRI scan that she has a rare hamstring abnormality—her tendon is split into two, allowing her to continue running with one tendon torn but potentially making her more prone to injuries. This unique condition affected her performance during the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in September 2026 and the European Championships earlier that year. Hodgkinson, who had previously won Olympic gold in 2024, has struggled with injury setbacks since then, including a freak fall that led to further physical issues. The article focuses on how this unusual anatomy impacts her training and racing strategies while balancing her optimism for future performances despite these challenges.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson revealed that an MRI scan has uncovered an "abnormality" in her hamstring, which is split into two tendons instead of one. This unique condition allowed her to continue running even after suffering a suspected tear during the European Championships in Birmingham last year. However, despite setting an indoor 800m world record and winning gold at the World Indoor Championships earlier this year, Hodgkinson struggled outdoors, losing three races to Swiss competitor Audrey Werro. Most recently, she placed second to Werro in the 800m final at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in September. Despite managing her unusual hamstring structure without missing training sessions over the past few weeks, Hodgkinson is still learning how to effectively manage this condition and its potential impact on her career.
Written for “Hodgkinson's Hamstring Issue” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson says an MRI scan has uncovered an "abnormality" in her hamstring.
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scan → publish → hamstring
Following a suspected tear last year, Hodgkinson had a scan which revealed she has a "split" hamstring, giving her two tendons instead of one.
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she → follow → tendons
The 24-year-old is still learning how to manage the anomaly, which allows her to continue running when one of the tendons is torn but may also make her more susceptible to breakdowns.
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her → learn → breakdowns
Following her second-place finish to Swiss Audrey Werro in the 800m final at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in September, Hodgkinson announced she had sustained another hamstring tear at the European Championships in Birmingham a few weeks earlier.
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she → follow → Birmingham
"My body is quite literally built differently," said Hodgkinson.
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Hodgkinson → build → ?
"Where most people have one tendon, mine is split - I have two - and we're trying to figure out if it's a strength or a weakness.
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it → have → two
"So when one of them tore, I still had another one because it's split.
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it → tear → one
In Birmingham, it didn't affect me during the race, but I could feel something wasn't quite right.
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something → affect → race
You can still run on them.
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You → run → them
I haven't missed any training the last three weeks.
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I → miss → training
But I've just had to alter my approach.
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I → have → approach
I've had to take my foot off the speed [training], because that's when it's most risky."
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it → have → training
Hodgkinson has endured two injury-plagued seasons since winning Olympic gold in Paris in 2024, waiting for more than a year to race again after suffering a hamstring injury the following February.
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Hodgkinson → endure → injury
Impressing on her return in August 2025 with back-to-back Diamond League wins, she went on to set a new indoor 800m world record in February 2026 before winning gold at the World Indoor Championships a month later.
However, she has been unable to replicate that form outdoors, suffering three defeats by Werro, including losing her European crown to the 22-year-old.
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she → impress → old
Hodgkinson has since said she suffered a freak injury while jogging along a canal during a warm-down session, sustaining cuts to both knees and whiplash-like jarring in her back which have made the past few months a "battle".
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months → say → back
But, while acknowledging that the fall could have contributed to her injury at the European Championships - which ruled her out of Diamond League meets in Zurich and Brussels - she stressed she is not making excuses.
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she → acknowledge → excuses
"Part of me wants to talk about it and then part of me doesn't, because I feel like my words get twisted or people are like 'oh, she's making excuses'," Hodgkinson said.
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Hodgkinson → want → excuses
"Going into the Europeans, I thought I was in the best shape ever.
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I → go → shape
But when I fell over, that kind of messed me up way more than I thought it did.
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it → fall → me
I think that's what contributed to my hamstring, because I couldn't really use my quad for a while."
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I → think → while
Speaking after her defeat by Werro at the Ultimate Championship, Hodgkinson described 2026 as "frustrating" but remained optimistic: "Overall, I'm finishing second in the world and I can't really be too hard on myself for that."
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I → speak → that
Hodgkinson will end her 2026 season in London at the all-female Athlos event, launched by Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, on Friday.
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Hodgkinson → end → Friday
The Aporia
