Keely Hodgkinson didn’t just break the world indoor 800m record in Lievin on Thursday (19) evening, she took the record into a completely different stratosphere.
The Brit became the first woman in history to break the 1:55-barrier indoors for 800m with a 1:54.87 clocking, taking almost one second off the previous long-standing world indoor record of 1:55.82 set by Slovenia’s Jolanda Ceplak at the 2002 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
The likelihood of a world indoor record in Lievin had increased significantly after Hodgkinson clocked a gun-to-tape 1:56.33 in the 800m heats at the UK Indoor Championships in Birmingham last weekend but the scale of her world record shocked many onlookers. Not Hodgkinson though.
"That was the plan," said Hodgkinson in the mixed zone post-race. "I wouldn’t have been very happy if I had just run 1:55 to be honest. I knew I was in much better shape than that. I wasn’t coming here to break the world record, I was coming here to run as fast as I can. I think there’s more to push.
"I feel really good. I was really excited to come here. I felt like it was going to happen and it was just a matter of 'how fast can I go?' That last lap is really hard, to really push and chase the lights as much as I can. I’m super happy though. 1:54 indoors - it’s my fourth 1:54."
Hodgkinson has described breaking the world indoor record as "her destiny" as the previous mark of 1:55.82 was set by Ceplak on 2 March 2002, on the very same day Hodgkinson was born.
Circumstances had frustratingly prevented Hodgkinson from attempting the record she has longed to claim, including a nagging injury which forced her to miss her very own meet, the Keely Klassic in Birmingham last February, which had been lined up as a world record attempt.
But one year later and fully-fit and injury-free, Hodgkinson seized the opportunity with gusto in Lievin on Thursday.
"The last couple of years I’ve really wanted [the record]. It feels a bit weird how it was set on the day I was born. 24 years later, I’ve taken it. It’s really special. It’s nice to have a world record and to say I’m the best to ever do it," said Hodgkinson.
In contrast to a solo 1:56.33 in Birmingham last weekend, Hodgkinson had the assistance of a pacemaker as well as wave-lights, which were incidentally set at 1:53.8-pace, in Lievin. The 23-year-old also said the new breakline for the indoor 800m at the 165-metre mark "definitely made a difference" too.
“I don’t know why they didn’t do it sooner. 50 metres is not enough time to all get in a good position and you get the momentum from the downhill off the bank so a 27 second [first lap] can feel like a 25 second. It feels really nice and I think it has definitely made a difference.
“The crowd was really supportive. I felt like I was at home in the UK. I was really excited to race here; it’s got a great reputation for breaking world records. I’ll definitely be back!" said Hodgkinson.
But Hodgkinson is far from done with this indoor season.
Her next race will be over 400m in Glasgow on 1 March before Hodgkinson turns her attention to winning her first world indoor 800m title in Kujawy Pomorze in Poland from 20-22 March on the same track where she won the first major senior title at the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships at the age of 19.
Hodgkinson’s attention will then shift to the outdoor season culminating with the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham from 10-16 August when the Brit will be looking to become the first woman to win three successive 800m titles.
And having gained ownership of the world indoor record, don’t be too surprised if an attempt on Jarmila Kratochvilova’s world outdoor record of 1:53.28 is on the cards outdoors this summer as well.
World indoor 800m record progression
1:58.4h - Olga Vakrusheva (URS) 1980
1:58.42 - Sigrun Wodars (GDR) 1987
1:57.64 - Christine Wachtel (GDR) 1988
1:56.40 - Christine Wachtel (GDR) 1988
1:55.82 - Jolanda Ceplak (SLO) 2002
1:54.87 - Keely Hodgkinson (GBR) 2026
Hodgkinson's 10 fastest 800m times
1:54.61 - London 2024
1:54.74 - Silesia 2025
1:54.87i - Lievin 2026
1:54.91 - Tokyo (World Championships) 2025
1:55.19 - Eugene 2023
1:55.69 - Lausanne 2025
1:55.77 - Paris 2023
1:55.78 - Eugene 2024
1:55.88 - Tokyo (Olympic Games) 2021
1:56.33i - Birmingham 2026
Multiple sub-1:55 800m performances
4 - Keely Hodgkinson (GBR)
4 - Pamela Jelimo (KEN)
4 - Caster Semenya (RSA)
2 - Jarmila Kratochvilova (TCH)
2 - Nadezhda Olizarenko (URS)
2 - Ana Quirot (CUB)
Photos courtesy of James Rhodes