Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson aimed a cheeky jibe at West Ham as the Premier League club threats to block London’s plans to host the World Athletics Championships.
Daily Mail Sport exclusively revealed last month that West Ham were refusing to back down in a dispute over the London Stadium.
West Ham remain strongly opposed to a plan that would see them vacate the London Stadium across roughly three weeks in September 2029.
The club, who have leased the stadium from Greater London Authority Holdings Limited since 2016, have insisted the terms of their awkward relationship with the stadium grant them ‘priority’ during the football season.
Privately, club sources are confident they can defend their position through legal avenues if necessary.
A deadline of April 3 has been set for initial submissions to World Athletics. Despite government backing, there are fears a deviation from World Athletics preferred September date for the Championships could hand an advantage to London’s rivals Rome and Munich.
Olympic 800m champion Hodgkinson reacted on social media to a post highlighting the situation, with Britain’s golden girl taking a light-hearted swipe at the Hammers.
‘The GB team will bring back more medals to that stadium than west ham have seen in their entire history,’ Hodgkinson wrote.
Hodgkinson, a Manchester United fan, followed the post with hand-over-the-mouth, heart and laughing emojis.
The British star would be 27 at the time the World Championships would be due to take place and would hope to be in the position to claim a world title in front of a home crowd.
Hodgkinson last week won the women’s 800m title at the World Athletics Indoor Championships.
Her triumph came as part of a run of three gold medals in 28 minutes for the British team, with Georgia Hunter Bell winning the women’s 1,500m and Molly Caudery triumphing in the pole vault.
In total, Britain won four gold medals at the Championships with Josh Kerr winning the men’s 3,000m.
There will be scope within the London bid to stage the World Championships earlier in the summer, but World Athletics have already made it clear their preferred option will be a September meet, at the close of the traditional track and field season.
Internal club estimates suggest the September proposal would require them to play at least three successive away matches, despite the favourable timing of the autumn international break. That disruption could increase if they are no longer in the Premier League.
West Ham are currently in the relegation zone with seven matches remaining of the season.
A West Ham statement to Daily Mail Sport last month read: ‘West Ham United remain in a constructive dialogue with London Stadium regarding the potential dates for the proposed bid and await further information.
‘Any decisions remain subject to the club’s overriding priority clause, a contractual right ensuring West Ham United games take priority during the football season.’
The perceived vagaries of that contract have long been disputed between West Ham and operators of the stadium during a fraught relationship.
While West Ham have regularly vacated the stadium to enable its reconfiguration during summer months, usually in the form of concerts or Diamond League athletics, they have not previously left mid-season for any extended period.
