Keely Hodgkinson is proud to represent a generation of female athletes who believe style is more than skin deep.
The Olympic 800 metres champion debuted an eye-catching, hooded black Nike speedsuit on Friday night at the international premiere of the all-female athletics meet Athlos in London, after also embracing the event’s glitzy red carpet in a baggy Liam Gallagher-inspired tracksuit.
Like many modern athletes, Hodgkinson, 24, sees style not as superfluous, but something – like a well-designed pair of spikes – that can make a genuine difference in a sport built on marginal gains, which trades in confidence like a currency.
“100 percent,” said Hodgkinson, when asked if an outward aesthetic and getting-ready ritual can cultivate a competitive mindset.
“I think a lot of women feel that way and whatever way they do it is right for them. There’s no right way to be feminine or to be a woman.
“For me, it’s just another thing that’s been really cool. I like to do things that are out there, I think that’s really exciting. I was very nervous walking out there, because I thought, ‘This is going to look crazy’, but it was really, really fun and I’m glad people get to see crazy, cool things.”
The superhero-like statement suit is built with what Nike calls colour-shifting “vortex generators”, tiny 3D-printed, drag-reducing aerodynamic devices, all “computationally tuned for each part of Hodgkinson’s body” that turn it, in her words, into something like “an F1 car”.
She also carefully considered the science behind the hood and was advised having her hair out might increase air drag and slow her down.
The ponytail cut-out, though, remained a “non-negotiable”.
It made Hodgkinson feel “a little bit more feminine and cool”, but there were also competitive considerations for an athlete who has come to realise she is a “look good, feel good” person, who needs to strike the right “mental and physical” balance.
Few would decry an Oscar winner for claiming a costume helped get them into character, but female athletes are routinely lambasted for wearing makeup, showing off manicures or making fashion statements.
In August, Amy Hunt, who prefers silver, symbolically wore gifted gold earrings before becoming the first athlete in history to win four gold medals in the same European Championships.
The next day, she told Woman’s Hour: “When I put on specific jewellery or makeup, it’s putting on that alter ego in a way, because I think I’m a different person on the track.
“It allows me to step into that very confident persona. I don’t think you can doubt yourself when you have a cat-eye on.
“I’ve spoken to so many female athletes about this and kind of taking that hour or two to yourself, to make sure you feel nice and taken care of, sets you up in the best possible way to feel confident when you’re on that track.”
Athlos and the World Athletics Ultimate Championship – which also debuted earlier this month with a red carpet – both seem to have concluded the sport’s future is rooted in self-expression.
Gen-Z athletes are not alone in embracing the change.
Sydney 2000 Olympic heptathlon champion Dame Denise Lewis, 54, called Athlos’ red carpet “just brilliant”, adding: “Athletes are always wanting to bring their 360 selves to an event. They don’t want to be defined by just the sport itself and this brings sport and culture together.
“It needs to feel like a festival. We want to shake off that shoddy old coat, be reborn, exciting, and move into new territories. This is part of that journey.”
