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Keely Hodgkinson has been honoured with a huge mural in Manchester after celebrating her incredible win for Great Britain at the Olympics 2024.
The runner, 22, from Wigan won the 800m women’s final to claim the first Olympic gold of her career on Tuesday – breaking the British record set by Dame Kelly Holmes 20 years ago – at the 2020 Tokyo games.
She crossed the finish line with a time of 1:56.72, which was almost half a full second faster than silver medallist Ethiopian Tsige Duguma with 1:57.15.
By winning gold, she made history by becoming the first British competitor to win athletics gold at this year’s sporting event.
And just days after her record-breaking win, Keely has now been honoured with a mural on Stevenson Square in the Northern Quarter.
Olympic legend Keely Hodgkinson was honoured with a giant mural in Manchester and shared this picture on Instagram on Wednesday after celebrating gold for Great Britain at Paris 2024
The team GB star showed off the art piece on Instagram
The artwork featured a set of flowers with the time she crossed the finish line at the sporting event
The team GB star took to Instagram on Wednesday and announced the exciting news to her 514k followers.
Sharing a carousel of snaps, Keely donned a casual ensemble of dark blue jeans and a cropped black top, along with a small Chanel bag.
She kept her blonde hair down and opted for a natural face of make up as she gleamed in front of the art piece.
Painted over a red shipping container, the mural featured an illustration of Keely with the caption ‘All the greats don’t stop at gold’.
The mural was commissioned by sports giant Nike and also features the band’s slogan ‘Just Do It’.
Alongside the post, Keely wrote: ‘Finally home!! And got to see this incredible piece of work created by @nike + so many talented individuals!!
‘This has been worked on for the last 6 months!! Beautiful to see it come together and be shown in my home city!! cool af, and a surreal moment, thank you.’
Following her incredible achievement, Keely decided to skip the closing ceremony in Paris for a well deserved break.
Keely cruised to victory in the women’s 800m final on August 6
She decided to skip the Paris 2024 closing ceremony for a well deserved Spanish getaway with her family
The team GB star thanked The Clubhouse at La Sala, Puerto Banus for its ‘amazing hospitality’
The gold medallist swapped her running shoes for a pair of heels as she celebrated her win in style with her family in the Costa del Sol.
No expense was spared as she dined out with family and friends at the lavish ‘Clubhouse Marbella’.
Keely had previously revealed that a family holiday was her ‘first priority’ after the Games – along with the possibility of buying a beige Porsche if she won gold.
She told The Mail before the games kicked off: ‘I saw a really nice car on Pinterest.
‘My brother was like, “Do you know how expensive they are?”, and I said, “If I win the Olympics, I will get myself that car”. I think it’s a Porsche Cayman. As long as it’s sporty and it’s beige and it looks nice, that’s all that matters to me.’
The running sensation is now set to earn big cash following her recent success, thanks to her prize from World Athletics and a series of lucrative sponsorship deals.
And brands guru Marcel Knobil, who has worked with Coca Cola and Yamaha, told The Sun: “Her estimated earnings prior to these Olympics were around £250,000 thanks to the likes of Nike and Omega.
“Now, thanks to her exceptional talent, golden success and attractive personality and looks — Keely can look forward to earnings way beyond £2million next year alone.”
