Keely Hodgkinson's 'mission is on' as she eyes gold in the 800m final

By James Toney in Paris

Keely Hodgkinson has promised a box-office 800m final tonight after underlining why she is the favourite for gold by qualifying fastest in Paris.

The 22-year-old is bidding to upgrade the silver she won in Tokyo three years ago to gold at the Stade de France and claim her first global major title.

She looked at the top of her game last night, easing to victory in just 1:56.86s to leave her rivals trailing in her wake.

Victory would see Hodgkinson emulate Kelly Holmes’ 800m gold from 20 years ago and she says she can now finally look forward to the race after trying to block it from her mind until confirming qualification.

"It felt great. You can't talk about medals until you're in the final so I'm super happy to put that performance together,” she said.

“All I can say is tune in tomorrow for a really exciting race.

"You can't take any chances. It gave me a good practice for tomorrow but I just wanted to be safely qualified. Job done. We're in the final now. Mission is on.

"I have said it all year I really want to upgrade my silver.

“I think I am in the best shape physically, mentally, emotionally to do that, that I have been ever. So I just hope that I can put it together tomorrow and let's see what we can do.

"I think it will be very quick. We have got incredible women pushing each other on. In the last couple of years the 800 has sky-rocketed to new heights, I am really grateful to be part of that."

There was disappointment for Scotland’s Jemma Reekie, who finished fifth in her semi-final and missed out, while 17-year-old Phoebe Gill also failed to qualify.

Meanwhile, 400m hopeful Matt Hudson-Smith surged into the semi-finals with a comfortable first-round victory.

The 29-year-old is among the favourites for gold after setting a new European record of 43.74s at the Diamond League race in London last month, and eased through in relatively comfortable 44.78s.

“It was an easy run, I was just going for the win , and try and make it as easy as possible and get ready for the semi-finals,” he said.

“I just wanted to execute my race plan as comfortably as possible. My preparation has been really good, so now I just go for the win.”

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