Keely Hodgkinson Sets New Athletissima 800m Record

Keely Hodgkinson eased to another 800m win, her second in the space of five days, on Wednesday (20 August) at the 2025 Athletissima Lausanne meet, the 13th stop on this season’s Diamond League athletics circuit.

The Briton was competing in just her second race in 380 days since taking Olympic gold after winning her season opener last Saturday at the Silesia Diamond League in a world leading time.

And she made it look easy, unbothered by the rain and wet track in the Olympic Capital, crossing in 1:55.69 to break the 23-year-old meeting record.

She took about a half-lap to find the front of the field behind the pacemaker, who completed the opening 400 in 56.04 on par with the pacemaking wavelight, which had been set to match Hodgkinson’s world lead from Saturday.

Only South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso could stay with her through 600m, although she would quickly fall off the pace as the pack came through the final bend.

Hodgkinson surged away and, despite the green wavelight disappearing ahead of her, still took more than half a second off Maria Mutola’s mark from 2002.

“I couldn’t really expect anything more, I was just focussed on running and keeping on going. I was really happy with that time in those conditions,” the Olympic champion told Olympics.com’s Evelyn Watta after her race. “We did debate whether we’d slow it down just because of how cold and how it is, but I thought I’d just give it a go and see what happens.

“It’s not windy, that helps. I just wanted to win today. It was a really crowded field and a taste of what I might see in Tokyo, so to stay strong in that and the weather, I couldn’t be happier.”

The home crowd had something to cheer as Switzerland’s Audrey Werro just edged out Georgia Hunter Bell in a two-woman tussle for second. Werro crossed the line some 1.65 seconds behind Hodgkinson, with Hunter Bell 0.21 seconds further back. Sekgodiso finished sixth.