Adaejah Hodge broke the Commonwealth Games record on her way to 200m gold. She is a hugely exciting talent but the 20-year-old has also been at the centre of doping controversy. Jeremy Inson examines her career so far and talks to the people who have helped her.

The Commonwealth Games doesn’t attract too much interest in the USA but, during Glasgow 2026, there was one part of Georgia that keenly followed the action. In the college town of Athens they were focused on the women’s 200m final and, in particular, University of Georgia athlete Adaejah Hodge. 

She didn’t disappoint and became the first female to win Commonwealth gold for the British Virgin Islands. The university’s track and field director Caryl Smith Gilbert made the trip to Glasgow, there as part of the BVI delegation, but also worked with Hodge and wasn’t surprised by what she saw in the final. 

“I was so proud of her,” Smith Gilbert told AW. “We ran the 200m instead [of the 100m] because it was a long season this year, and we wanted to have her ready for the World Championships in Beijing in 27, and the Olympics in LA in 28. She had shivers. It was really cold outside, and it was raining, so I was proud to see her still run so fast.”

The 20-year-old raced home in 22.07 at Scotstoun, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago's Shaniqua Bascombe in 22.35, and Jamaica's Alana Reid with 22.56. A day earlier, during the semi-finals, Hodge set a Games record of 22.01 – taking 0.01 off the record the five-time Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah set at Birmingham 2022. 

“I wanted it the most, so I dug deep, found another gear and started to separate myself from the field,” Hodge said in the aftermath of the final. “It wasn't my best race, but being able to call myself a Commonwealth champion at just 20 years old is amazing. Not only that, becoming Games record-holder was a huge thing.”

Hodge’s first senior medal wouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone who has seen her perform at age-group level or for the Bulldogs, who she helped win the 2026 NCAA title with  gold in the 200m and silver in the 100m. 

Hodge was born in the BVI but moved to Georgia with her mother and two sisters when she was eight. “I was going to be a Bulldog before I even knew I was going to be a Bulldog,” she said. It also meant that she was eligible to compete for the USA, something that spurred the BVI into securing her services as soon as possible. 

“I said at all costs we can't let go of this one, so we did all we could,” said BVI National Olympic Committee president Ephraim Penn. “Her mother was very supportive. Whenever she called, we made sure we answered. We made sure that we kept the door open for communication and were there for whatever they needed. Now we are reaping the benefit of that dedication to her.”

Smith Gilbert added: “For Adaejah, BVI is home. She loves the BVI, and that's what she represents. That's who she's always told me she'd represent. It's never been a question, and there'll never be a switch [to the USA] to my knowledge. She loves the BVI. That's her culture, and her family. It's very important to her.”

Two years ago, Hodge first made the world sit up and take notice when she won 200m gold and 100m silver at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima. She was also the BVI’s flag bearer at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where she reached the 200m semi-finals. 

However, in November of 2024, her fledgling career faced its first major interruption when the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) informed her that she had tested positive for metabolites of GW501516, a banned metabolic modulator, at those World U20 Championships. 

Hodge received an immediate provisional suspension but worked with AIU representatives to offer her explanation of the positive test and subsequently submitted additional documentation to support her account. She then attended a second formal interview with the AIU in January 2025, her co-operation and the handing over of all relevant data being taken into account as their judgement found she had unknowingly ingested the banned substance. 

The two major upshots were that Hodge handed back her U20 medals (though they are still credited to her on the World Athletics website), but had her suspension reduced from 24 to 17 months. That meant she was able to return in time this year for the Commonwealth Games, the end of the NCAA indoor season and the entirety of the NCAA outdoor season.

“I've put all that behind me. I just wanted to move forward and work extra hard to show I didn't need it,” said Hodge. “I never will need it. I just knew I had to put in extra work to prove to the people, the haters, that I'm Adaejah Hodge. Having my university on my side meant a lot to me because it just showed that we are a family. Families aren't perfect; they go through things. 

“My coaches didn't treat me any different from any of the other athletes. They gave me the same workouts. They treated me just the same. They encouraged me just the same. When I did something wrong, they told me that I was wrong, and there was never a moment where I felt stressed or felt like I was in a bad situation.” 

Hodge was able to maintain her focus and, when she returned to competition, ran a 100m personal best of 10.63, won the NCAA 200m title and also finished second at the Monaco Diamond League meeting. 

“It is our job here at the University of Georgia to make sure that we have strong, emotionally stable young people and that we support them to the best of our ability,” Smith Gilbert said. “Just because something comes up doesn't mean I'm going to turn my back on her. She needed support. She needed to be loved. She needed a family. She was away from home. This was a huge shock and a surprise. We wanted to be here for her and show her that we were unwavering, and we would never ever leave her by herself.”

Of course, not everyone was happy to see Hodge back in action. Her ban meant Torrie Lewis was promoted to U20 200m gold in March 2025. The Australian finished sixth in the 200m final in Glasgow and didn’t hold back in her thoughts about the victor. 

“Let's just say I'm not surprised no-one shook her hand and I'm not supposed to say any more than that,” she said. “I've been told not to say anything. I would love to say some words, but I'm not allowed to. I think everyone knows what I would like to say but just fill in the blank yourself.”

Whatever the rights and the wrongs of Hodge’s ban, there is no doubt that she approached the issue with maturity. Rather than protesting her innocence, she was open with the AIU and wanted to find out the reason for her doping. 

And she was granted a hero’s welcome in the BVI. Hodge regularly returns to the main island, Tortola, to visit her grandmother and on August 11 huge swathes of the 40,000 population lined the streets to salute her gold medal motorcade. 

“We know we have a special athlete,” Penn said. “The key thing for us as a country is to support her and encourage her, to make sure that she gets all the support she needs and that she continues to do what she does. She has shown us that she is willing to make that sacrifice for the country, so the least we can do is support her 110 per cent.

“My first meeting with her as the president of the Olympic Committee, we sat down with her and her mum. She was about 16 and she had all these worldly plans. There was no fear. She had confidence in herself that she was going to succeed, regardless of who she came up against, and you rarely find that in someone so young.”

Los Angeles 2028 is on the horizon and thoughts will start to turn towards the possibility that she could become the BVI’s first Olympic medallist. Kyron McMaster came close when he finished fourth in the 400m hurdles in Tokyo. 

“Coach Caryl is very particular about the transition,” Hodge said. “She teaches us from day one how to be a professional athlete. She doesn't treat us like we're juniors any more. Once we enter that college realm, we are now professional athletes. We are now senior athletes. 

“Being under her wing and gaining all her knowledge, even if she's not here, I know exactly what to do because we have practiced it so many times, over and over, meet after meet. She has instilled in us from day one that we are good enough.”