Keely Hodgkinson Breaks 800m Record
British runner Keely Hodgkinson shattered the women's indoor 800m world record in Lievin, France, finishing in 1:54.87—almost a full second faster than Slovenia's Jolanda Ceplak's previous record. The achievement adds to Hodgkinson's tally of 10 international medals and was set on the same day she was born.
- The previous record of 1:55.82 was set by Slovenia's Jolanda Ceplak at the European Indoor Championships in Vienna on March 3, 2002. - Hodgkinson is coached by the husband-and-wife team of Trevor Painter and former 800m runner Jenny Meadows, who run the M11 Track Club. - This is Hodgkinson's first world record and the first by a British woman in the 800m since Ann Packer's victory at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. - Among her previous international medals are an Olympic gold from Paris 2024 and a silver from the Tokyo 2020 Games, as well as two silver medals from the World Championships. - Hodgkinson also holds the world indoor best for the 600m, having run 1:23.41 in Manchester in 2023. - Her next major competition is the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun, the same track where she won her first senior international title in 2021. - Following the indoor season, she will aim for a third consecutive 800m title at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
