Keely Hodgkinson shows off Catwoman style to steal Athlos London event

Athlos arrived in London promising that its all-female spin on track and field would be radically different. Long before Keely Hodgkinson destroyed a women’s 800m field dressed in a hooded black bodysuit, looking like a cross between a ninja assassin and Catwoman, it had made its point – and then some.

Throughout the night the sound of the bassline from the aptly named DJ Trauma, who was given pride of place in front of the main stage, carried enough power to make eardrums bleed.

There was dancing and frequent shouts to the crowd to make some noise. And, between all that, some athletics broke out.

Some of it was pretty decent too. Hodgkinson providing the abiding image of the night, with a bodysuit that brought to mind Cathy Freeman at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

As she was introduced, the stadium MC told the crowd: “Wait until she comes around the corner, she looks bad, bad, bad. In a custom Nike custom suit, Keely Hodgkinson!” Athletics sometimes resembles a vicarage tea party. This was more like a rave. Mill Hill has rarely seen anything like it.

Afterwards Hodgkinson insisted that she had worked six months with Nike on the design, which contained openings for her sunglasses and ponytail. Perhaps it was more of a gimmick than a performance-enhancing piece of kit. But it didn’t stop her walking away with $65,000 and a Tiffany crown as she thrashed a weak field.

“It is pretty sick,” said Hodgkinson, who won by more than two seconds in 1min 56.40sec from the Swiss athlete Valentina Rosamilia. “This is a project I have been working on with Nike for quite some time. It went down a treat. Life is about enjoying it and this was so much fun.”

It certainly was very different, with an audience far younger than usual. When Hodgkinson arrived on the red carpet in a baggy tracksuit, for instance, she was accompanied by the sound of dozens of screaming teenage girls.

“I wasn’t expecting such a warm welcome, but it was fun!” she said. “My outfit was last minute, but for inspiration, I feel like it’s Liam Gallagher. I’m from Manchester, he’s from Manchester, I feel like I look like him.”

At one point the crowd were encouraged to scan a bar code and those selected were shown dancing and waving on a main screen. There was also a noise-meter.

The commentary was very different too. As the women’s mile entered the final lap, the stadium co-commenter Kath Merry asked: “Who wants the crown? Who wants the $65,000. It is getting quicker than quicker.” The race was decent, mind with the Polish athlete Klaudia Kazimierska winning in 4:19.43, just 0.11 sec ahead of Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell.

There were only 42 athletes and seven events, spread over two hours. But plenty of stars showed up, attracted by the huge prize money, with $65,000 up for the winner of each of the seven events, and $35,000 for second.

Given the event was shown for free on YouTube, the broadcasting rights couldn’t have brought in much either. Athlos appears to be Field of Dreams principle, if you build it they will come.