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The reactions after Wigan’s Keely Hodgkinson winning her first Olympic gold medal are heartwarming

That's our girl!

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 6th August 2024
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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.

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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.

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If that doesn’t put into perspective just how staggering an achievement it is still so early into her career, having also finished second in two successive World Championships, then we don’t know what will.

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.

The full list of Greater Manchester Olympians representing Team GB at Paris 2024
Hopefully, Keely Hodgkinson isn’t the last athlete from our region destined to bring home an Olympic gold medal this tournament.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE

Featured Images — BBC Sport (via Screenshot)

Sport

The hearing over Manchester City’s 115 FFP charges will officially start next week

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester City hearing over 115 FFP charges start date next week
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After more than a year of speculation as to when proceedings will finally start, it has been confirmed that the hearing regarding Manchester City and their 115 FFP charges is set to begin next week.

Man City were first slapped with the laundry list of alleged breaches of FFP (financial fair play) and failure to comply with Premier League rules on profit and sustainability (PSR) back in February 2023, but little movement on the case has been reported since then.

In that time, they also won the coveted Treble and their record-breaking fourth league title in a row; meanwhile, the club have continued to deny all claims of rule-breaking.

However, it has now been revealed that City‘s hearing will now kick off on Monday, 16 September.

As explained in various reports, given the extended nature of the claims made against the Manchester side, it is estimated that the case could run on for up to two months if not longer.

Furthermore, it is thought a decision isn’t expected to arrive until spring 2025 – again, this is simply due to the number of charges brought up over the best part of a decade.

In case you need a refresher, the allegations levelled at Man City date back to 2009 and concern a supposed nine years of financial irregularities, as well as subverting UEFA FFP rules.

Some of the accusations made against them also include failing to cooperate with the European football body and the Premier League, as well as offering ‘secret contracts’ so as to pay one particular manager a larger sum than what they recorded in their financial statements.

The final verdict, whenever it is reached, will be handed down by an independent commission and City will still be able to make an official appeal.

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The club itself launched unprecedented legal action against the English top-flight back in June but it doesn’t appear to have been enough to swat away those investigating the books.

It goes without saying that were they to be found guilty, it would be the biggest financial scandal in English football history and could be seismic for the future of money in the sport and regulations surrounding ownership, which have already grown tighter following the charges being issued.

And in case you needed a more detailed refresher on what exactly they are being tried for and what the possibilities are regarding punishment if found guilty, here’s a quick rundown:

What punishment could Manchester City face for FFP breaches?
The outcome and level of punishment following the Man City hearing could vary greatly in severity.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Arne Müseler (via Wikimedia Commons)

Sport

Billy Harris’ sensational Davis Cup debut helps secure GB’s opening win in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones
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Great Britain grabbed their first win in the opening game of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals group stage this week with a hard-fought day against Finland which featured a truly stunning debut from would-be dark horse Billy Harris.

‘The World Cup of Tennis’ returned to Manchester’s AO Arena on Tuesday for the next stage of the tournament, with Britain getting their Finals group games underway this past Wednesday and starting as they mean to go on.

It may have been too early to throw in Jack Draper – who despite being one of their most promising squad members is still pretty raw from his draining semi-final defeat in the US Open last week – but, thankfully, experienced Dan Evans got the ball rolling and it became a case of building on the advantage.

That being said, you could tell from the early points of Evans’ opener against world no. 703 Eero Vasa that it was going to be a long day for the home team, as the sets felt drawn out right from the off.

Birmingham’s finest was taken to a tense tie-break in the first set of the day but, tough as always, he weathered the early test and emerged with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over the Finnish underdog who looked to be playing well above form.

Evans’ stamina and resilience were a big factor in their dominant display in the qualifiers last September too, but energy levels can only take you so far and after a tiring first match, Finland piled on the pressure in the doubles fixture where he and partner Neal Skupski just couldn’t quite survive two tie-break sets.

The 34-year-old duo were truly put to the test but, fortunately, the game was already a bit of a dead rubber, as the real star of the show came in the form of surprising debutant Billy Harris from Nottingham, who impressed everyone with his emphatic performance against in the other singles fixture beforehand.

Harris only earned his first ATP Tour win last year and is admittedly a bit of a latecomer to the party, but his journey is an inspiring one: working hard over the last 12 months and simply continuing to push so as to now earn his stripes with a Wimbledon debut earlier this year as well.

At 29, he’s at a crucial point in his prime years as an athlete, so it was important that he did his utmost to leave his mark on the GB squad at his first Davis Cup, and he tackled that objective head-on.

Notching a comprehensive 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win against Otto Virtanen – who is no slouch in this particular tournament – team captain Leon Smith said of the showing: “I’m thrilled for Billy – I think that’s one of the best debuts you’ll have seen. It was that good.”

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Even on an early afternoon mid-working week, the second day of this year’s Davis Cup managed to attract nearly 6,500 fans to the AO Arena (roughly 90% capacity), which just goes to show how much of an appetite there is for the sport here in Manchester.

The opening rounds of the competition’s return to the city after a whopping three decades late last year saw its biggest overall attendance ever in this country and it’s clear Great Britain look very at home playing here.

Our boys take on Argentina in the next round this Friday, 13 September, where hopefully the likes of Draper can come back into the fold and give the likes of Evan, who has struggled with fitness of late, a much-needed bit of rest where possible.

Even without the likes of the now-retired Andy Murray, an injured Cam Norrie and Stockport’s Liam Broady, GB still look to be one of the teams in with a really strong chance of going all the way. Is The World Cup of Tennis ‘coming home’ and just how big a maiden tournament is Billy Harris going to have?

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group/Billy Harris/ATP/Davis Cup (via Instagram)

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