Athletics-Hodgkinson withdraws from Zurich Diamond League, says body not ready

Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson ​has withdrawn from Thursday's ​800 metres at ‌the Diamond ​League meeting in Zurich, saying her body was not ready to race ‌again after the European Championships. The Briton had been due to face European champion Audrey Werro in a rematch of their ‌Birmingham final, where the Swiss won gold in a ‌championship-record 1:54.81.

"Unfortunately the body isn't quite ready to race again after the European Championships," Hodgkinson said in a statement. "We've made the decision ⁠to ​skip this ⁠race and get ready for the next one." Hodgkinson, who won Olympic gold ⁠at the Paris 2024 Games, has also withdrawn from a ​busy summer schedule after dealing with injuries in recent ⁠seasons.

Werro, who won the 800m at last week's Diamond League meeting ⁠in ​Lausanne, will still compete in Zurich alongside Britain's Georgia Hunter Bell and Dutch 400m hurdles world champion ⁠Femke Broeders-Bol. The Zurich meeting is the penultimate Diamond League event of ⁠the ⁠season, with the series final scheduled for Brussels on September 4 to 5.