Keely Hodgkinson has finished second in the highly competitive women’s 800 metre final at the European Championships in Birmingham.
The 24-year-old jokingly gestured to take off her silver medal in her post-race interview after ceding her title.
Her rival, Audrey Werro, claimed gold after being allowed to compete despite her fall which saw her finish last in the semi-finals.
Keely had ground to make up going into the final corner and straight and was unable to reel in her Swiss adversary despite a strong push.
Werro had been allowed to compete after footage showed France’s Anais Bourgoin hitting her right foot with her left hand in the semis.
After losing her gold medal, Hodgkinson said: ‘Mixed emotions. With that level of competition, any medal is an achievement.
‘I thought I was going to win. I didn’t do anything wrong, just one of those things.
‘I’ve had a pretty good day today, just didn’t go the way that I wanted.’
Werro clocked a time of 1:54.81, improving on the championship record set by Olga Mineyeva in 1982.
Femke Broeders-Bol took bronze with a national record for the Netherlands.
More to follow.
