On Thursday in Liévin, France, Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson made it clear she was chasing a report that had stood because the day she was born—March 3, 2002. That mark stands no extra. Hodgkinson smashed the ladies’s indoor 800m world report with a jaw-dropping time of 1:54.87.
The British middle-distance runner’s efficiency takes almost a second off the earlier mark of 1:55.82, set by Slovenia’s Jolanda Čeplak in 2002. It’s additionally a major private greatest for the 23-year-old, who has now received 11 of her final 12 races over the 800m distance.
WATCH: Keely Hodgkinson 🇬🇧 breaks the 800m World File in Lievin, working 1:54.87!!!🤯🤯
The earlier report of 1:55.82 was set on the precise day Keely was born.pic.twitter.com/UNLKiBHwxN
— Observe & Subject Gazette (@TrackGazette) February 19, 2026
Hodgkinson got here via 400 metres in slightly below 56 seconds, and stayed on tempo over the ultimate two laps (indoor observe is 200m) to safe the second world report of her profession. She additionally holds the ladies’s 600m world greatest time of 1:23.41
Čeplak’s report had lengthy been met with scrutiny after she examined constructive for the performance-enhancing drug erythropoietin (EPO) within the years following her run. She denied taking any banned substances and served a two-year suspension, however by no means returned to the shape she confirmed when she set the report.
In a post-race interview with World Athletics, Hodgkinson stated the report had been on her thoughts for some time, including with a smile that she was relieved to lastly get it achieved.
Hodgkinson will subsequent contest the ladies’s 800m on the 2026 World Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland, 4 weeks from now.
