Britain's Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson obliterated the world indoor 800m record in Liévin, clocking 1:54.87 to beat the previous mark of 1:55.82 set by Slovenia's Jolanda Ceplak on 3 March 2002 – the same day Hodgkinson was born.
The 23-year-old had hinted at her intent after a prep race at the British championships last week. She powered past a strong field including Ethiopia's Olympic silver medallist Tsige Duguma and Switzerland's European Under-23 champion Audrey Werro to lower Ceplak's record by nearly a second.
“That was really fun,” said a breathless Hodgkinson. “I’ve been looking forward to this for a good few weeks. It was just a matter of how fast I could go. It’s nice to have a world record and to say I am the best to ever do it.”
Hodgkinson had originally planned to break the record at her own Keely Klassic event in Birmingham last February, but a hamstring injury derailed that attempt. Further setbacks followed, including a back problem after collecting an MBE, but she has started the indoor season in superb form.
Her time of 1:54.87 now stands as the world indoor record (short-track), adding to a CV that includes Olympic gold and silver, plus two silvers and a bronze at world championships. She will next target the world indoor championships in Torun, Poland, next month.
