Keely Hodgkinson Sets Sights on 800m World Record After British Indoor Best
Keely Hodgkinson, the Olympic champion, is targeting a new world record in the 800m after shattering the British indoor mark at the UK Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham on Saturday, .
The 23-year-old clocked a stunning time of 1:56.33 in the heats, surpassing her own national record by almost a full second. The performance was the fastest in a women’s indoor 800m race in 24 years and ranks as the third-fastest in history, according to reports.
Hodgkinson, who secured Olympic gold in 2024, described the run as a “personal challenge,” particularly as she has already announced she will not compete in Sunday’s final. She is scheduled to race in Lievin, France, on Thursday, and explained that qualifying for the World Indoor Championships, taking place in Poland from to , was her primary objective at the Birmingham event.
“I had to come to qualify for the Worlds and that is why I was only doing one round,” Hodgkinson said. “But it was a good test. It is three years since I ran indoors, so I knew I had to go out there and stay focused.”
She added, “We didn’t set out to run a world lead, but I started well and just kept it going. It was a nice surprise. It was a really strong day.”
Hodgkinson’s impressive time has fueled her ambition to break Jolanda Ceplak’s indoor world record of 1:55.82, set in 2002. “I have been very vocal in the past about wanting to get it,” she stated. “I feel like it is my record to break. We’ll give it a good go.”
The athlete revealed she has been in excellent health leading up to this season, a welcome change after a delayed start to her 2025 campaign due to injury. “I’ve had my healthiest winter for years. I’m not taking any of it for granted to be honest. It was so frustrating being on the sidelines for such a long time. I’m just happy to be able to do an indoor season and have nothing holding me back,” Hodgkinson said.
Elsewhere at the UK Indoor Championships, Dina Asher-Smith delivered a standout performance, winning the women’s 60m in a championship record time of 7.05 seconds – just 0.02 seconds off her own British record. Amy Hunt finished second in 7.15 seconds. Jeremiah Azu claimed the men’s 60m title with a time of 6.56 seconds. Molly Caudery, the 2024 world indoor champion, opened her season by winning the women’s pole vault, clearing 4.65m.
Hodgkinson’s record-breaking run marks a strong start to her 2026 campaign and signals her intent to challenge for further success on the international stage.
