London wants to host the World Athletics Championships in 2029 but faces opposition from West Ham United - something which Keely Hodgkinson has taken exception with
James Reid
13:00, 30 Mar 2026
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(Image: Steve Christo - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Adam Gemili praised Keely Hodgkinson for using her voice in a bid to bring the World Athletics Championships back to London.
Hodgkinson has been vocal on social media after reports that the UK’s bid to host the event in 2029 is in jeopardy due to a conflict with tenants West Ham ’s Premier League matches. The Olympic champion took to X to call for the championships to return to London for the first time since 2017, while also poking fun at the Hammers.
And Gemili believes more of Britain’s star athletes should be using their voices like Hodgkinson to help bring the event to east London.
“These athletes are the ones that can do it, they have the followings,” he said. “I am so glad that someone of her level is not scared to not toe the line, not just sit on the fence and she’s put something out there. A lot of athletes can do and maybe don’t do who do have that platform and voice. Good on her.
“I would love to see athletics back in London, I think so many people would. Back in that Olympic Stadium, it would inspire so many new athletes. That is why Keely is one of the GOATs, she is a great human on and off the track. She is a great athlete, a great role model and she is someone that will always have my support.
“She’s a brilliant mentor for a lot of young athletes to look up to even though she is still so young.”
Gemili has fond memories of the Olympic Stadium, bursting onto the scene as a teenager at the London 2012 Olympics before winning world gold in the 4x100m relay at the same stadium five years later.
The 32-year-old has now called time on his athletics career but wants to use his own platform to help the sport grow in whatever way he can.
“I am excited to be on the other side,” he said. “If I can do anything to help promote it, punditry or commentary, anything I can do to stay involved I am going to take it because I absolutely love it. I love talking about the sport and I can give a really fresh, different perspective. I have only recently retired from the sport, I know a lot of these guys personally.
“I spent my whole adult life committed to the sport and I want to promote it as much as I can. There’s something for everyone. It is sport in its purest form.
“It’s a passion of mine and I want to share my love for it with the world. We are seeing crazy numbers of people doing local parkruns and I want that to translate into people watching track and field.”
Gemili is also working with Chelsea's academy, putting on specialist sessions to help improve players’ sprint mechanics, and the 32-year-old is also planning his own training academy in the near future as he looks to write a new chapter after 15 years on the track.
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“Every week I get more and more boys and help them get faster,” he added. “We’ve done all the testing and their numbers are just incredible. I have a lot of knowledge I have learned from the best in the world and I am excited to share what I know with the next generation.”