Keely Hodgkinson and her main rivals, Audrey Werro and Femke Broeders-Bol, have advanced to the semi-finals of the women's 800m at the European Athletics Championships.
Olympic champion Hodgkinson, who has won the last two European titles, controlled her heat, finishing with the fastest time of the morning in 1:57.28. This performance follows a season that has seen setbacks but has maintained her competitive shape, as she stated.
"Championships are a fresh start. That felt very good, very comfortable," Hodgkinson told BBC Sport. "The standard has gone up but it's good, it brings out the best in me."
Audrey Werro of Switzerland, who recently recorded the fastest time of the season to defeat Hodgkinson, also won her heat comfortably in 1:57.83. Femke Broeders-Bol of the Netherlands, a two-time world 400m hurdles champion who switched events this season, won her heat in 1:59.96.
Hodgkinson expressed optimism about the increasing level of competition in the women's 800m. "All it takes is one person to raise the bar and you think more things are possible," she said. "Everyone knows that to keep up you have to keep getting better. It's a really exciting time for the women's 800m."
Italy's Eloisa Coiro briefly interrupted Hodgkinson's post-race interview, calling the British athlete "an inspiration on and off the track."