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Keely Hodgkinson's nine-word message after removing silver medal in BBC interview

Keely Hodgkinson removed the silver medal from around her neck during a post-race interview with the BBC after losing her European Athletics Championships title

[Keely Hodgkinson of Team Great Britain, looks on after competing in the Women's 800 Metres Final]

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Keely Hodgkinson jokingly took off her silver medal after the 800m final(Image: Julian Finney, Getty Images)

Keely Hodgkinson paid tribute to the sold-out European Athletics Championships crowd at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. Just over 23,000 fans cheered her on to second place in the women's 800 metres final.

Hodgkinson, 24, thanked those in attendance for their support and called it a beautiful night despite finishing as a runner-up to Audrey Werro, who won her first senior international title and ran a championship-record time of 1:54.81. In second, the British outdoor record holder finished in 1:55.01.

The back-to-back European champion jokingly removed the silver medal from around her neck during a post-race interview with the BBC. However, she was magnanimous in defeat.

After picking up her first non-gold medal on the European stage, Hodgkinson posted a selfie with the caption: "Beautiful night, thank you Birmingham!!!! Your support was incredible". In the early hours of Saturday morning, she also uploaded a photo with her parents, Dean and Rachel, in which she proudly held the silver medal around her neck with her left hand.

During her post-race interview, she acknowledged the achievement of finishing second. After playfully removing her silver medal, she said: "I'm kidding, that was a joke. Yeah, a bit of mixed emotions. I think with that level of competition, any medal is a really good achievement, so another one to add to my collection, I can never be disappointed with that. But yeah, I was the defending champion, so I wanted to do that.

"I knew it was going to come down to the wire. I really thought I was going to win today, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I didn't do anything wrong. It's just one of those things."

Hodgkinson added: "I think there were so many different ways that could have played out, and we'd figure it out after the first 100m. Audrey was happy to take it on, and with that wind, I was happy to let her.

"We're all really great athletes, so I knew it was going to be close. I'm looking forward to the next match-up."

[Keely Hodgkinson stands infront of the Omega result board after the Women's 800 Metres Final]

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Keely Hodgkinson won her previous two European Championships finals(Image: Julian Finney, Getty Images)

She continued: "I've said all year it's really motivating to be in such a competitive event, and I love it, I think it brings out the best in me. Championship racing, that's what it's all about, you don't know how it's gonna go, some people can have a good day, some have a bad day, I had a good, pretty good day today, I think, just didn't go the way that I wanted it to."

In a separate interview, Hodgkinson added: "I don't want it to be easy. We're all going to win some, lose some. S*** happens. Audrey fell over yesterday; she did amazingly to bounce back. I know what that took out of me a few weeks ago, so yeah, incredible to her. And, yeah, life goes on. I'll go back and train, and just hope I get it next time."

Reflecting on the race itself, she said: "Yeah, that last 50 metres, I really thought I had it, but she's a strong athlete. Sometimes you want it so much, and sometimes in terms of real parts it might just not be enough, before adding: " before adding: "It doesn't sting because I was beaten by a great athlete.. "I think I put together a pretty good race. I don't think I did anything wrong.

"The thing about the 800 metres is you have a million different ways it could go in your head. Nobody really knew, so you have to think on your feet, but I think I covered every move well. I just didn't have enough."

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