Team GB notched another Olympic medal at Paris 2024 on Monday night but even more excitingly for us Mancs, it was an outright gold for Wigan’s very own Keely Hodgkinson.
After having narrowly missed out on the top prize at Tokyo 2020, claiming the silver on debut, the 22-year-old has now brought her wait for an Olympic gold medal to an end with just her second attempt.
Born in Atherton, the homegrown hero and much-loved member of Leigh Harriers and Athletics Club had plenty of people all over Greater Manchester right behind her.
You can see the reactions to Keely Hodgkinson and her incredible 800m win in the studio and from some very happy local faces down below:
With ex-gymnast turned pundit Gabby Logan and Team GB legend Jessica Ennis-Hill cheering her on every step of the way live inside the Stade de France, not to mention another native Wigan athlete Ella Toone cheering her on through the telly, she had support with every superb stride.
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As you can see, the BBC Sport cameras were also fixated on her friends watching from the stands, former heptathlete Denise Lewis and her fellow Harriers watching back home.
Moreover, Man United Women’s star Toone – who both went to Longworth High in Tyldesley and virtually all of the same after-school clubs during their younger days – had a very special message for her childhood friend and newly crowned Olympic champion.
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Safe to say that secondary has produced two pretty remarkable pros and inspirational figures for the next generation when it comes to women in sports.
Ella Toone sent a wholesome message to Keely Hodgkinson after she won her Olympic gold medal 🥇
Crossing the line in an impressive 1.56.72 and cruising a good chunk of the race before turning of the afterburners on the home stretch, Hodgkinson became just the 10th British woman to win athletics gold in Olympics history.
This was also the UK’s first Olympic track title since Mo Farah won that iconic 5,000m and 10,000m double at Rio 2016 when Keely was just 14.
Speaking to the media after the win, she said: “I’ve worked really hard for the last year and I think you can see how much it meant to me when I crossed the line. I can’t believe I have finally done it!” We’re so proud of you, Keely, and we can’t wait for you and hopefully more Mancs to get a hero’s welcome.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
6th August 2024 
