Success breeds success in Trevor Painter’s training group

Keely Hodgkinson has acted as a catalyst for growth at booming middle-distance squad, writes Jasmine Collett, but coach Painter believes creating a fun environment is also crucial

The coach behind the success of British 800m record-holder Keely Hodgkinson has revealed he has experienced a rise in athletes joining his training group – from across the world.

Trevor Painter coaches a group of middle-distance athletes in the North West of England alongside his wife Jenny Meadows, the two-time World Championship bronze medallist.

The coaching duo guided 21-year-old Hodgkinson to Olympic silver in 2021, European gold and world silver in 2022, plus world silver in 2023. During this time the number of runners joining their group has more than doubled.

Sarah Healy, an Irish international, started training under the guidance of Painter this year and finished runner-up in the 5th Avenue Mile in New York in September, just behind Jemma Reekie.

Scottish runners Erin Wallace and Eloise Walker have also relocated to join the team, as well as several male runners, who have 800m PBs roughly similar to Hodkingson’s 1:55.19 best.

What’s more, Danish 800m record-holder Annemarie Nissen goes the extra mile to train with Painter as she spends most of her weekends flying from Denmark to Manchester.

Painter said: “With the success that Keely has had, it does become a popular place to be and a popular destination. We have always been a strong group. There have always been 10 or 12 athletes but over the last couple of years there have been so many people wanting to come and we now have 26 athletes. But it’s also about the quality of people that are coming to us.”

The group enjoyed a successful year with four athletes running at the World Championships in Budapest (Hodgkinson, Healy, Lewis Davey, Nissen), three at the European Under-23 Championships in Espoo (Hodgkinson, Healy, Walker) and three more at the European Under-20 Championships in Jerusalem (Ashley Nemits, Indienne King, Ava Lloyd).

Keely Hodgkinson with training partners (Getty)

They have been putting in dedicated efforts throughout the winter season, so far participating in two winter camps held in Font-Romeu in France and Potchefstroom in South Africa.

Painter hopes for the success to keep growing with the 2024 Olympics fast approaching.

He said: “If we want to improve next year, we want to try and see if we can get even more athletes than we had last year going into the…