'Closest I've felt' - Hodgkinson on breaking longest-standing world record
#Keely Hodgkinson #800m world record #Athletics #Olympic champion #Indoor record #Outdoor record #Jarmila Kratochvilova #Femke Bol
📌 Key Takeaways
- Keely Hodgkinson feels closer than ever to breaking the women's 800m outdoor world record
- She recently shattered the indoor 800m world record with a time of 1:54.87
- Despite injury setbacks, her improved health and training have convinced experts she can break the long-standing outdoor record
- She has a positive relationship with new competitor Femke Bol, who is moving to the 800m event
📖 Full Retelling
British Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson has expressed feeling closer than ever to breaking the women's 800m outdoor world record during a recent interview, following her stunning performance where she shattered the indoor world record in Lievin, France last week. The 23-year-old British runner believes she can surpass Jarmila Kratochvilova's outdoor record of one minute 53.28 seconds, set in Munich in July 1983, which stands as the longest-standing world record in athletics. Hodgkinson recently demonstrated her exceptional capabilities by breaking the indoor world record with a time of 1:54.87 in France, a record that had stood since 2002 - coincidentally, the year Hodgkinson was born. Her coach, Jenny Meadows, revealed that the athlete's time could have been up to one second faster, suggesting even greater potential. Despite facing significant challenges, including a hamstring tear shortly after her Olympic gold at the Paris Games in 2024, Hodgkinson has shown remarkable resilience. 'After winning the Olympics, it really wasn't what I thought was going to happen,' she reflected. 'It makes you stop and strip back everything and think, why is this happening? What are the problems?' Her determination and improved health during winter training have convinced many, including World Athletics president Lord Coe, that breaking the outdoor record is imminent. Hodgkinson has her sights set on potential attempts in London, a city she considers special, and is already looking ahead to the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland this March.
🏷️ Themes
Athletics, World Records, Resilience, Competition
📚 Related People & Topics
Lists of Olympic medalists
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Keely Hodgkinson
English middle-distance runner (born 2002)
Keely Nicole Hodgkinson (born 3 March 2002) is an English middle-distance runner. She is the reigning Olympic champion at 800 m after winning the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics. In total, she has won two Olympic medals having also won silver at the same distance in the delayed 2020 Games.
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Original Source
'Closest I've felt' - Hodgkinson on breaking longest-standing world record By Matt Graveling BBC Sport reporter Published 18 minutes ago 9 Comments Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson says she feels "closer than ever" to breaking the women's 800m outdoor record - the longest-standing world record in athletics. Jarmila Kratochvilova set the record of one minute 53.28 seconds in Munich in July 1983. But Britain's Hodgkinson, who broke the event's indoor world record on Thursday , believes she can surpass Kratochvilova and achieve something that will "cement her place as the greatest of all time". "It's not an easy feat and there's a reason it has stood for so long, " Hodgkinson told BBC Sport. "I think this is the closest I've felt near it. I do really believe that we can break it, but a lot of things have got to come together." Hodgkinson's stunning indoor run in France saw her cross the line in 1:54.87 to smash a world record which had stood since 3 March 2002 - the day the Briton was born. Her coach, Jenny Meadows, told BBC Sport the athlete's time in Lievin could have been up to one second faster - and Hodgkinson is aiming higher still. "I've known for weeks I'm capable of breaking it. It's just a matter of getting out on the day," she said. "We can push it even further in the future, as long as I stay healthy and I think this is hopefully just the beginning." Victory came after a difficult year for the 23-year-old, who stormed to Olympic gold at the Paris Games in 2024. Hodgkinson was left unable to train after tearing her hamstring just a few months after that triumph and has been building her way back ever since. "After winning the Olympics, it really wasn't what I thought was going to happen," she said. "It makes you stop and strip back everything and think, why is this happening? What are the problems? "But, we got through it, I became a stronger person, and I think this is now the reward of all of that happening." How Hodgkinson broke a 23-year-old world recor...
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