‘I want to attack every race’: Keely Hodgkinson sets

British runner is favourite for 800m at European championship in Rome and is looking to the Olympics

On the eve of what Keely Hodgkinson believes will be a summer of golden illumination, she is asked whether she is primed to show her best at these European championships and the Olympic Games next month. Her answer speaks volumes. “Yes,” she replies. “I haven’t let you down so far, have I? I really feel like this year is hopefully the best I’ve ever been. I’m really looking forward to it.”

The 22-year-old will be one of Team GB’s biggest stars in Paris. But she admits that she has another British poster girl, Jessica Ennis-Hill, to thank for reviving her interest in athletics when it waned before London 2012.