Kylie Hodgkinson, the 2024 Olympic champion, announced the results of an MRI scan revealing an 'anomaly' in her hamstring tendons. After a suspicious injury last year, she discovered that her hamstring has a 'split,' giving her two tendons instead of one. The 24-year-old Hodgkinson continues to run despite this anomaly and is still trying to determine whether this is an advantage or a problem for her.
Discovery of a Unique Anomaly
After finishing second in the 800 meters at the World Championships in Budapest, Hodgkinson announced that she suffered another injury to her hamstring during the European Championships in Birmingham. She said, 'My body is literally built differently. I have two tendons where the tendon tore last year. So, while everyone has one tendon, I have two tendons that are split.'
Challenges and Achievements
Hodgkinson believes this anomaly may have been with her since birth. She explained, 'This is just the way I was made. We realized this last year when I noticed the injury in the MRI scan.' As a professional athlete, this allows her to continue running with the other tendon if one is injured. However, this anomaly may be slightly weaker in strength compared to the other tendon.
The Olympic champion has been concerned over the past two years about how this issue affects her performance in competitions as she has struggled significantly with injuries. She noted, 'It's a strange issue. You can run on them and there is no risk of injuring the other tendon. I haven't missed any training in the past three weeks; I just had to change my training approach.'
She also mentioned an interesting incident where she fell while running alongside a canal in Manchester, resulting in scrapes on her knees and back injuries. Hodgkinson said of the incident, 'Part of me wants to talk about it, and part of me doesn't want to because I feel my words get distorted.'
Hodgkinson will conclude her season on Friday night in London at the Athlos event, which is an all-female competition. This event is hosted by Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian.
