of Great Britain Keely Hodgkinson He retained his 800m style at the European Indoor Championships and dedicated the victory to his late former coach.
The 21-year-old player then left the field. Istanbul to get gold in one minute 58.66 seconds, almost two seconds ahead of second-placed Anita Horvat. Sloveniaand later revealed that he did so as he continued to come to terms with the sudden death of Joe Galvin.
Hodgkinson said: “The easiest and smoothest way was to run hard ahead. That’s what I wanted to do. I wanted others to work hard for it if they were to be near me. I’m really happy to defend my title. I really couldn’t have asked for more.
“Right now every race and every championship is a different experience, because this is my second European Indoor Championships. I just hope to build on that and continue to perform and bring back medals. That’s where I want to be, that’s what I want to do, that’s why I’m living the dream.
“I didn’t have time to process this, but my coach passed away a few days ago and it was really unexpected, so this is definitely for him.
“The 10-year-old had a lot of confidence in me, so this medal is for him and everyone in the house. I really hope to make him proud and I hope he’s there watching and his wife, Margaret, who I know, will be proud of me too.
If Hodgkinson’s success was expected – he made it to the finals with a season-best time more than three seconds faster than his opponents – team captain Jazmin Sawyers’ victory in the long jump came as a surprise.
Sawyers was fourth towards lap five with a jump of 6.76m, but jumped to the lead in the 7.00m with the world leader, British indoor and personal record, followed by Serbia’s Ivana Vuleta and Italian Larissa Iapichino failed to overhaul it.
He said: “It feels like a really, really long time. I didn’t gain anything. I am still in shock.
“I feel like the seven-metre jump has been inside me for a very long time. I’ve been waiting for this seven-metre jump forever. It’s been so many years that I thought, ‘Is it coming?’ you think.
Sunday’s double win extended Great Britain’s medal distance to three goals – Laura Muir He won the 1500m title on Saturday – one silver and two bronzes, putting them in third place behind Norway and the Netherlands in the final medal table.