Hodgkinson, currently on a gap year from her criminology studies at Leeds Beckett University, knows she has to swerve the many distractions that come the way of a successful athlete.
Admitting she went hard at the wine and clubs for 10 days on holiday in Greece, Hodgkinson went from gracing the red carpet of the James Bond movie world premiere to enduring a tough high-altitude training camp in Font Romeu in the south of France to kickstart the winter grind.
Sporting 15 piercings and four tattoos, Hodgkinson lives a normal teenager’s life living with friends in Leeds and spending her time outside of training in coffee shops and shopping for clothes.
“My priority is always the training so I’m good at managing the attention now and know I have to keep working hard,” she explained.
Hodgkinson also intends to stake a claim on the British 4x400m relay team but it is the forthcoming battles with Mu that bring the greatest motivation.
“It’s good to be on the same journey as Athing and at the same age, and good to have that rivalry,” she said. “We’ve had the same personal bests every year since we were 14 so it’s going to be very interesting to see how the next few years go.
“Trev and Jen say there’s 30% more still to come. They’ve helped build me steadily and now it’s about maintaining it and bringing my times down.”
