Hunter Bell edges out Hodgkinson as GB win 800m silver and bronze

Georgia Hunter Bell led Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson to a British medal double in the world 800m final - but their bid for a stunning one-two was spoiled by Kenya's Lilian Odira in Tokyo.

Hunter Bell continued her fairytale return to the sport she had quit for five years by edging training partner Hodgkinson to second, 0.28 seconds behind Odira who claimed gold in a championship record one minute 54.62 seconds.

While Hodgkinson, 23, had set her sights on a first world title following successive silvers before her triumph at Paris 2024, bronze represented a remarkable achievement at the end of a season devastated by injury setbacks.

Hunter Bell upgraded her Olympic bronze medal in a personal best time of 1:54.90 - a mere one hundredth of a second ahead of training partner and good friend Hodgkinson.

The two medals took Great Britain and Northern Ireland's overall tally to five on the last day of the championships, but that final total represented the same as Doha in 2019 and their lowest since Helsinki in 2005, when they won three.

Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell had both spoken before the final about their ambitions to become the first British athletes to achieve a one-two at a World Championships since Christine Ohuruogu and Nicola Sanders in Japan 18 years ago.

Both coached by husband-and-wife partnership Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, the pair trained together, roomed together at the British team's holding camp, and have performed drills together in the corridors of the team hotel to escape the Tokyo heat.

But on Sunday they became gold medal rivals and would end up locked together - almost inseparable - as they threw themselves across the line.

Ultimately, it was Hunter Bell - having had a full season to build towards this moment - who was able to summon the final effort required for silver after Odira had made her way past in the closing stages to achieve her first global medal of any colour.

Hodgkinson told BBC Sport: "I'm happy for the both of us, we both got a medal. It's my third 1:54 [since returning to action] and to be consistent like that, especially after the year I've had, it's not what I came here for but I can't be too disappointed."

Great Britain head coach Paula Dunn later told media Hodgkinson had been ill with a stomach bug in the build-up to the final.

Hunter Bell said: "I'm so happy, the fastest time I've ever run. I knew it would be fast from seeing the girls in the field but I was just like 'don't get dropped, try to hang on to get the kick in the end'."

A bronze worth its weight in gold for Hodgkinson

While Hodgkinson only has a desire to be number one after establishing herself as Olympic champion, this was a bronze medal which, in the context, was worth its weight in gold.

Against all odds, after enduring a deeply challenging year both physically and emotionally, Hodgkinson has come back from a 376 day wait to make her bow as Olympic champion with her fifth successive global podium.

After a knee injury sustained before the Olympic final last August set her back over the winter, two torn hamstrings kept her out of action until just five weeks before the championships.

The second, a grade three tear of the right hamstring incurred after her back tightened during the eight-hour round trip to collect her MBE from Windsor Castle, put her hopes of even making the start line in Tokyo in jeopardy.

There was only time for her to race twice in August before launching her bid for world glory, the world-leading time which she produced in her statement comeback just five weeks ago had positioned her as favourite for gold.

For a while, Hodgkinson struggled to watch other people sprint. According to Meadows, there have, understandably, been more tears "than ever before".

But, through her lengthy layoffs from the track she took the opportunity to rebuild solid foundations in the gym, with her increased strength and power reflected in lifting personal bests. Within her group, she was nicknamed 'Keely 2.0'.

While this was not the golden reward she ultimately sought, after announcing her return by setting the fastest time of the year, she was still able to celebrate with Hunter Bell at the scene of her breakthrough Olympic silver as a teenager four years ago.

Hunter Bell continues rise on return to athletics

Hunter Bell's dilemma over which event to target in Tokyo had dominated her thinking in the lead-up to the championships - but ultimately her final decision proved the correct one.

Returning to the event she initially competed in as a child after making impressive progress over the shorter of the middle-distance events this season, the 31-year-old completed a full-circle moment as she achieved back-to-back global podiums.

Hunter Bell has taken the long way round since she contested her first track race 21 years ago, quitting the sport in 2017 before getting back in touch with Painter after rediscovering her love of running during lockdown.

But the former English Schools champion continues to make up for lost time, taking another step on the podium in what is her first year as a full-time athlete after quitting her cybersecurity job following last summer's Olympics.

Meadows told BBC Sport: "Trevor and I are so proud of both of them. Keely has been our young protege since she was 17 and this is her fifth podium in five successive global champs.

"Georgia is the complete opposite, which is why they are both great role models. She was a child protege but moved away from the sport, and Trevor had always said she was the one that got away.

"We're so glad she got back in contact at the end of 2022. We always have a private joke about when I asked Trevor who he was on facetime to - he said Georgia Bell and I said 'well that ship has sailed'.

"It got brought up at her wedding but she does forgive me because ever since I have seen she has what it takes and I have been her biggest supporter ever since."