Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson smashed the women’s world indoor 800 metres record on Thursday, eclipsing a mark that had stood since the day she was born nearly 24 years ago.
The Olympic champion clocked one minute 54.87 seconds at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Lievin to cut 0.95 seconds off the previous record of 1:55.82 set by Slovenia’s Jolanda Ceplak on March 3, 2002.
“Thank you for the amazing crowd,” Hodgkinson said, according to the World Athletics website. “I could hear you all the way around.”
The 23-year-old, who has made a strong start to the season, had clocked 1:56.33 at the UK Indoor Championships last weekend.
Hodgkinson took control early in the race, passing 200 metres in 26.47 seconds and reaching 400m in 55.56. She hit the 600m mark in 1:25.06, well clear of the field, before powering to the finish to seal the record.
Switzerland’s Audrey Werro finished a distant second.
Hodgkinson won Olympic silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics before claiming gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
