LEIGH Harrier and British International Keely Hodgkinson ran the race of her young career when competing in the 800m event at the European U20 Championships held in Boras, Sweden.

Keely had to battle through Heat 1 on Thursday when she raced to 1st place in 2:06.17, then in the semi-final she clocked 2:05.4 for second place and a guaranteed place in the Final on Saturday.

In her first year in the U20 age group, Keely was up against athletes with more experience at this level and having three races in the same amount of days would be hard for any athlete.

The race set off at a blisteringly hot pace going through the first lap in 61 seconds.

Keely kept her head sticking to her race plan and moved through the field to hit the final bend in a good position to race down the home straight with second place a real possibility, but she was pipped on the line by the Swiss athlete to take third place with a personal best time of 2:03.40 and a well-deserved bronze medal.

The British team headed the overall medal table taking home six gold, three silver and six bronze.