Keely Hodgkinson eases to victory in 800m Olympic heat as Team GB superstar advances in quest for athletics gold medal

Keely Hodgkinson dominated her 800m Olympic heat with a time of 1:59:31 to safely qualify for the semi-finals.

The Team GB star was hot favourite heading into Friday’s qualifier and never looked in trouble as she led from the off and eased to victory.

USA’s Nia Akins finished second and Benin’s Noelie Yarigo was third ahead of Sunday’s semi-final.

Analysing her victory afterwards, Hodgkinson told the BBC: ‘The heats are actually really tough. The girls stepped up this year. I’m happy to ge through with no problems. 

‘I really hate heats, they are just awful and you can get caught out where mistakes are made.’

Keely Hodgkinson dominated her 800m Olympic heat with a time of 1:59:31 to safely qualify for the semi-finals

Hodgkinson never looked to be in any danger as she eased to a place in the semi-finals

Hodgkinson also described the track at the Stade de France as ‘super fast’ and appeared surprise at the pace of the heat even though she never looked troubled.

Full race report to follow.