Keely Hodgkinson is on cloud nine. The English middle-distance runner has recently broken a long-standing world record in the indoor 800m event.
Hodgkinson is a multiple World Championship medalist and one of the fastest 800m runners in recent times. The 23-year-old is also the reigning Olympic champion in this discipline.
Keely Hodgkinson Shares Thoughts After Eclipsing 800m Indoor World Record
Hodgkinson recently took part in the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais Trophée EDF, held in Lievin as a part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour. The British runner set a new world record in the women’s indoor 800m, clocking 1:54.87.
The previous record was held by Slovenia’s Jolanda Ceplak, who clocked 1:55.82 at an athletic meet in 2002. Interestingly, this record was achieved on the same day that Hodgkinson was born, i.e., March 3, 2002!
The English runner opened up about this feat in a post-race interview, where she mentioned,
“I feel really good. Yeah. I was really excited to come here. I felt like it was gonna happen today. It was just a matter of like, how fast can I go? It’s really hard that last lap to really push. Try to use the light as much as I can. And yeah, I’m super happy.”
The English runner further added,
“I would have not been very happy if I just ran 155, to be honest. I knew that I was in much better shape than that. And I wasn’t really coming here to break the world record. I was here to run as fast as I think as I can, and I think there’s still more to push, and I’m grateful for the good lineup of girls that push me all the way.”
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With this record, Hodgkinson is only the second British athlete, after Jonathan Edwards, to hold a world record in any track and field discipline. At the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg, the British triple jumper set an unbelievable mark of 18.29m. To date, no triple jumper has been able to break this world record.
Hodgkinson’s personal best in the outdoor events is 1:54.61, set at an athletic meet in London held a month before the 2024 Paris Olympics. This is one of the fastest times recorded by a female middle-distance runner in recent years. The 23-year-old had also clinched a bronze medal at the 2025 World Championships, held at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
The world record for women’s 800m is held by Jarmila Kratochvilova of the Czech Republic, who clocked 1:53.28 at an athletic event held in Munich in 1983. With the age factor being heavily in favor of the British athlete, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she breaks the world record.
The only major hurdle in her way would be, ironically, the Dutch athletic sensation Femke Bol, who once competed against American runner Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the 400m hurdles but has officially transitioned to the 800m this season, although she will continue to represent the Netherlands in the 4x400m relay events.
