Keely Hodgkinson admitted she was stunned to learn of her own performance after winning gold in the 800m at the World Indoor Championships in Torun, as Great Britain enjoyed a golden treble reminiscent of Super Saturday at London 2012.
Hodgkinson, who clocked 1min 55.30sec – the second fastest indoor time ever – ran straight to training partner Georgia Hunter Bell after her victory, unaware that Hunter Bell had also won gold in the 1500m. When told, she screamed in delight, before Molly Caudery joined them after securing pole vault gold with a clearance of 4.85m.
“We were so excited we just screamed,” said Caudery, who had feared she would have to pull out after falling ill on Sunday morning. The trio’s three golds in 29 minutes marked the greatest night for British athletics since 2012.
Hunter Bell, who quit the sport in 2017 due to injury before returning via a parkrun in 2022, won the 1500m in 3:58.53, overhauling Ethiopia’s Girke Haylom. Caudery battled back from a ruptured ankle ligament in September to retain her indoor title, while Hodgkinson dominated the 800m from the front.
Hodgkinson now holds a full set of major medals, including Olympic, world, European, and Commonwealth Games honours. “I wanted to let loose, and make everyone work hard,” she said. “Maybe on another day, without two races in my legs, I would have had the world record again.”
