Keely Hodgkinson has very clearly laid out her intentions for the outdoor season, she wants to break the longest standing world record in athletics.
Having smashed the world indoor 800m record in February by nearly a second, Hodgkinson is in good form to target Jarmila Kratochvilova’s outdoor record of 1:53.28, which has stood since July 1983.
But her coaches, Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, want to see her run 1:53 in the outdoor season before then hunting down the world record.
“I think we’re just desperate to see that 1:53 first before we try and go down to the 1:53.28”, Meadows told Athletics Weekly.
Consistent training
Currently, Hodgkinson sits in sixth on the all-time 800m world rankings with 1:54.61, but Meadows and Painter are confident that after an uninterrupted block of winter training she can challenge for a higher seat in the ranks.
“Because she has those months now of consistent training this winter, she's hitting outdoor times indoors, and it just makes me really excited,” Meadows added.
“I think she will be running those 1:53s that she's so desperate to run.
“Whether it’s [the world record of] 1:53.28, we’ll see but it was in London in 2024 that she saw 1:54 on the clock for the first time and now she’s really looking forward to that moment when she sees 1:53 on the clock.”
Hodgkinson is set to run her first 800m outdoors this season on 7 June at the Stockholm Diamond League, just days after contesting in the 400m at the Rome Diamond League on 4 June.