Olympic Champ Eyes World's Oldest Track Record

Keely Hodgkinson is chasing history, and for the first time, she believes she can catch it.

The British Olympic champion just shattered the women's indoor 800m world record in France, crossing the finish line in 1:54.87. That record had stood since March 3, 2002, the exact day Hodgkinson was born.

Now the 23-year-old has her eyes on an even bigger prize: the outdoor 800m world record. Set by Jarmila Kratochvilova in Munich in 1983, the 1:53.28 mark has survived for 43 years, making it the longest-standing world record in all of athletics.

"This is the closest I've felt near it," Hodgkinson told BBC Sport. "I do really believe that we can break it, but a lot of things have got to come together."

The path to this moment hasn't been easy. Just months after storming to Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Games, Hodgkinson tore her hamstring and couldn't train.

The injury forced her to rebuild from scratch. "After winning the Olympics, it really wasn't what I thought was going to happen," she said.

But her team nicknamed her "Keely 2.0" during recovery, and the transformation shows. Her coach Trevor Painter even bought her a 40-kilogram Himalayan salt lamp to calm her energy during rehab.

Why This Inspires

Hodgkinson's journey reminds us that setbacks don't define us. After Olympic glory, she could have let a devastating injury derail her dreams.

Instead, she used the time to grow stronger, both mentally and physically. "We got through it, I became a stronger person, and I think this is now the reward of all of that happening," she said.

Her coach Jenny Meadows believes Thursday's indoor run could have been a full second faster with perfect conditions. World Athletics president Lord Coe publicly stated he believes Hodgkinson will break Kratochvilova's outdoor record this year.

Hodgkinson's current outdoor personal best sits at 1:54.61, just over a second behind the world record. Her coach predicted two years ago that 2026 would be special.

The athlete hopes to make her record attempt in London, in front of a home crowd. "London is very special to me," she said.

First up is March's World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland, where she'll be the favorite for gold. Then comes outdoor season and a shot at cementing her legacy as one of track's all-time greats.

She'll also have exciting new competition: Dutch superstar Femke Bol just announced she's moving up to the 800m after dominating the 400m hurdles. "Me and Femke are really good friends," Hodgkinson said warmly.

After the hardest year of her career, Hodgkinson is healthy, hungry, and ready to rewrite the record books.