The 800M Olympic champion was recognized in the King New Year Honors list for his contribution to athletics

Keely Hodgkinson has declared that he wants to put the athletics “on the map” after receiving his MBE in Windsor Castle (May 13).

The 800M Olympic champion received recognition for her contribution to athletics: last year she broke her own British record with 1: 54.61, she exceeded the podium in Paris and was there crowned sports personality of the BBC of the year.

The 23 -year -old became the third British woman to ensure gold in the 800m in the games, after Ann Packer in Tokyo 1964 and Kelly Holmes in Athens 2004, and is now inspiring the next generation.

That could also include Princess Charlotte after Prince William, who gave Hodgkinson his MBE, told the Olympic champion that his daughter is a great broker.

“The prince told me that he is doing the 400m and the obstacles in the minute and that he saw me in Paris,” said Hodgkinson. “He told me that he reminds me of having won and that Whony could be there to see him.”

Hodgkinson has not competed from the Olympic Games and plans to open the season in the Stockholm Diamond League next month (June 15).

The female field presents the eight best classified 800 meters in the world, which means that Hodgkinson will face the compatriots Georgia Hunter-Bell and Jemma Reekie in the Swedish capital.

He will also face Tsige Duguma and Mary Moraa, who obtained 800 meters of silver and bronze respectively in Paris.

Hodgkinson had put Herights by breaking the 800m world record of Jolanda čeplak of 1: 55.82 in his own event, the Koley Klassic in Birmingham in February.

Keely Hodgkinson celebrates with Trevor Painter (Getty)

However, the British plans were drained by an injury in the hamstrings, suffered a duration of their final training session before the meeting.

Now, after another training block in South Africa, Hodgkinson is ready to go again.

“I currently feel good, we are in a really good place,” he said. “The hamstring progressed very well, we took our time with him and we have not had problems until training, which has really been positive.

“We are a little on the track. I’m still four or five weeks to open my season, but I’m looking forward to it and it is [Stockholm Diamond League] A great career is basically an Olympic final again. “

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