Keely Hodgkinson will be seeking her first world 800m title either indoors or outdoors at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Kujawy-Pomorze in Poland from 20-22 March.
Hodgkinson, who has been named on a 29-strong British team, recently smashed the world indoor 800m record with a 1:54.87 clocking in Lievin to become the first woman in history to break the 1:55-barrier for the distance indoors.
And after a run of near misses, Hodgkinson begins as the outstanding favourite to land her first world title. Hodgkinson has won two silver medals and one bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships but is yet to compete at a World Athletics Indoor Championships having missed the last three editions due to injury.
However, Hodgkinson does have a proven pedigree for championship racing indoors. She won the European indoor 800m title on the same track in 2021 just days after celebrating her 19th birthday before defending her title with consummate ease in Istanbul two years later.
Hodgkinson will be joined on the 800m team by Isabelle Boffey, who was also in the 2021 European indoor 800m final. She has also made a significant improvement during the indoor season, taking two seconds off her outright lifetime best with a 1:57.43 clocking to move into the world all-time top-10.
And there will be medal chances for her M11 training partner and teammate Georgia Hunter Bell in the 1500m. The world 800m silver medallist is unbeaten in her two 1500m races this year, clocking 4:00.04 in Karlsruhe 4:00.21 in Lievin for victories over strong international fields.
At the last edition of the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, Great Britain won two gold medals courtesy of Jeremiah Azu (60m) and Amber Anning (400m).
Azu, who also won the European indoor 60m title in Apeldoorn, is seeking back-to-back titles but Anning has opted to miss the championships to focus on the summer season, culminating with the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham from 10-16 August.
There will also be strong medal chances in the women’s 60m with world 200m silver medallist Amy Hunt and European 100m champion Dina Asher-Smith, the latter making her first appearance at the World Indoor Championships since 2016, forming a formidable British duo and Molly Caudery will be seeking yet more silverware after winning pole vault gold on home soil in Glasgow in 2024.
Josh Kerr, who also won the 3000m title in Glasgow in 2024, has also been selected subject to securing the required world ranking position when the qualifying window closes.
The full British team can be found here.