Hodgkinson withdraws from Zurich Diamond League

Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson has decided to skip the women's 800 metres at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich due to her body not being fully prepared for another race. Hodgkinson, who had planned to compete against Switzerland's Audrey Werro, who had previously beaten her to gold at the European Championships, cited needing to recover before the next event.

Hodgkinson explained in a statement that they had made the decision to withdraw and focus on preparing for the following race. The race lineup includes world 400m hurdles champion Femke Broeders-Bol and Hodgkinson's training partner, Georgia Hunter Bell, who recently won the 800m gold at the Commonwealth Games. World 800m champion Lilian Odira of Kenya, who had previously defeated Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell in Tokyo, has also withdrawn from the race due to illness and weakness since the Commonwealth Games.

Despite Diamond League organizers expressing enthusiasm for Hodgkinson's highly anticipated race against Werro, they fully support her decision and hope to see her return in the future. Hodgkinson, who had skipped the Commonwealth Games to prioritize the European Championships, had expressed her excitement about competing in Zurich earlier this month.

The Diamond League event in Zurich is the penultimate race of the season, with the final taking place in Brussels over two days from September 4-5.