Brit Keely Hodgkinson broke the world document for ladies’s indoor 800m at a European Athletics occasion in Lieven, France; The British sprinter is the reigning Olympic champion and broke her personal nationwide document on the UK Indoor Championships final weekend
Final Up to date: 19/02/26 11:32pm
Keely Hodgkinson continued her good return as she steps up preparations for the World Championships
Keely Hodgkinson set a brand new world 800m indoor document time of 1 minute 54.87 seconds in Lievin, France – beating the close to 24-year-old normal set on the day she was born.
Hodgkinson, who stormed to 800m gold on the Paris 2024 Olympics, shaved almost a second off the earlier greatest, 1min 55.82secs, achieved by Jolanda Ceplak on the European Championships in Vienna on March 3, 2002.
The 23-year-old was primarily relieved she had backed up her phrases from earlier within the week, when she confidently advised a press convention the document was hers to take.
Keely Hodgkinson poses along with her Tiffany & Co crown introduced to her for successful the 800m at ATHLOS in New York
“Thank God!” the Olympic champion declared in a trackside interview with World Athletics.
“No, that was really fun. I’ve been really looking forward to this for a good few weeks, so thank you for the amazing crowd.
“I wasn’t working alone, I had plenty of assist over right here.”
Keely Hodgkinson broke her own national record just last weekend at the UK Indoor Championships
Hodgkinson opened her season at the UK indoor championships, running 1:56.33 without pacemakers or wavelights to move third on the all-time list, before turning her focus to Thursday night in France.
Speaking trackside at that event in Birmingham, the Atherton athlete mused that she “unintentionally ran fairly quick” without help.
Thursday night’s feat was no happy accident. All the tools were in place in Lievin, where the wavelights were set at 55.8s at the halfway point and 1:53.80 overall.
Hodgkinson followed designated pacemaker Anna Gryc of Poland through 200m in 26.47s and 55.56s at the 400m mark before striking out solo, clocking 1:25.06 three quarters of the way through.
Hodgkinson was topped Sports activities Character of the 12 months in 2024
She clapped her palms after crossing the road, the place she accepted congratulations from her fellow rivals earlier than splaying out like a starfish on the observe to soak within the rousing appreciation from the gang.
Hodgkinson was additionally congratulated by her coaches, Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, in addition to coaching companion Georgia Hunter-Bell – the Olympic 1,500m bronze and world silver medallist who had clinched her personal victory earlier within the night.
The brand new world-record holder, nonetheless filled with vitality, then made a beeline for her household, taking a selfie to cement the milestone in reminiscence.
