Keely Hodgkinson won the 800m to end her injury-hampered season on a high at New York’s all-female Athlos meeting. Britain’s Olympic champion outclassed the field in her signature event, finishing in 1:56.53 in only her sixth race this season after missing several months of competition due to injury earlier this year.
Fellow Briton and world silver medallist Georgia Hunter Bell took second in 1:58.33 on Friday night before a thronging Icahn Stadium. St Vincent’s Shafiqua Maloney (1:58.57) was third.
“I’ve barely raced this season so it was probably less of a struggle for me to go out there and want to give it something,” said Hodgkinson, who claimed a bronze medal at last month’s World Championships in Tokyo after her campaign was marred by a hamstring injury. “The atmosphere out there is crazy so it was really, really fun.”
Keely Hodgkinson breaks the tape to win the 800m in 1:56.53. Photograph: Ishika Samant/Getty Images for Athlos
The American Brittany Brown, the 200m bronze medallist at last year’s Paris Olympics, surprised herself with the sprint double. Brown surged forward at the halfway mark and hung on through the final metres to win the 100m in 10.99sec, beating here compatriot Jacious Sears by just two hundredths of a second, with Kayla White (11.22) third.
Brown, returned to the track an hour later, dominating the longer sprint with a personal best 21.89, beating her compatriot Anavia Battle (22.21) and Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith (22.65). “I was more shocked at the 100m [win] because that was only my second 100m of the year,” said Brown, who missed several months of training after undergoing laparoscopic surgery in December. “The 200m, it was more like – that’s my baby – I was still shocked but it was less of a shock.”
Brittany Brown after winning the 200m at Icahn Stadium: ‘I was still shocked but it was less of a shock.’ Photograph: Emilee Chinn/Athlos/Getty Images
The women’s-only event is in its second year, bringing a party atmosphere to traditional track, with live music and Tiffany & Co crowns replacing traditional winners’ medals. The 23-times tennis major winner Serena Williams, who is married to the Athlos founder Alexis Ohanian, was on hand to present the winners with their crowns, adding A-list lustre to the event.
The meet also attracted some of the sport’s biggest names, as Kenya’s three-time Olympic gold medallist and world record-holder Faith Kipyegon stormed to victory in the mile, crossing the finish in 4:17.78. She finished nearly two seconds faster than the Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay, while the American Nikki Hiltz was third in 4:32.51.
The Olympic champion Masai Russell wrested the lead with two barriers to go to win the 100m hurdles in 12.52, ending her season on a positive note after a disappointing fourth-place finish last month in Tokyo. Her American compatriot Grace Stark, who took bronze at worlds, finished second in 12.60, while Alaysha Johnson (12.66) was third.
The gold medallist at the Paris Games, Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, broke away down the final straight to win the 400m in 50.07, with Great Britain’s Amber Anning finishing a distant sixth in 52.86. In the long jump, reigning Olympic and world champion Tara Davis-Woodhall won with an effort of 7.13 metres.
