Hodgkinson delivers historic 1:54.87 to break Ceplak’s long-standing record

Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson delivered a landmark performance on Thursday night, breaking the long-standing women’s indoor 800m world record at the meeting in Lievin, France, Sport360NG reports.

The 23-year-old clocked an astonishing 1:54.87, slicing almost a full second off the previous mark of 1:55.82 set by Slovenia’s Jolanda Ceplak on 3 March 2002, the very day Hodgkinson was born.

Overcome with emotion after crossing the line, Hodgkinson told the crowd: “Thank God. That was really fun, I was really looking forward to this,” before being crowned with a golden tiara and seated on a throne beside the track in celebration of her achievement.

The Briton now joins Jonathan Edwards as the only British athletes currently holding a world record in a championship discipline.

A Statement of Intent

Hodgkinson had signalled her intent ahead of the meeting, describing the race as an opportunity not only to chase the world record but to discover “how fast we can really go.” That confidence was underlined at the UK Indoor Championships days earlier, where she bettered her own national record by nearly a second.

In Lievin, Poland’s Anna Gryc was tasked with pacing the field through 400m in 55.8 seconds. Hodgkinson reached halfway in 55.56 seconds, ahead of schedule, before taking command of the race. From there, she never relinquished control, gliding away from Olympic silver medallist Tsige Duguma and Switzerland’s Audrey Werro.

Tracking the green wavelights that marked world-record pace on the inside rail, Hodgkinson maintained her rhythm to the finish, decisively rewriting the record books.

Overcoming Setbacks

The world record attempt had been in Hodgkinson’s sights last year at her Keely Klassic event before successive hamstring injuries derailed her 2025 campaign. The setbacks marked a difficult first year as reigning Olympic champion, but they ultimately became the foundation for her resurgence.

Nicknamed “Keely 2.0” within her M11 training group, Hodgkinson used her rehabilitation period to build greater strength and power. The results are now evident, with the athlete describing this winter as the healthiest training block she has enjoyed in years.

Her return to form had already been hinted at when she opened her season in Birmingham with a time of 1:56.33, declaring afterwards: “I feel like it is my record to break.”

The previous indoor mark had long been viewed through a controversial lens after both Ceplak and Austria’s Stephanie Graf, who finished runner-up in that 2002 race, later served doping bans. Hodgkinson’s run now provides a fresh benchmark in the event.

Eyes on Greater History

Attention may soon turn to the outright world 800m record of 1:53.28, set in 1983 by Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova, a mark that has stood for more than four decades.

Having already secured Olympic gold at Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and claimed BBC Sports Personality of the Year honours, Hodgkinson appears poised for another defining chapter in her career.

“She’s absolutely obliterated that world record,” former British 400m runner Allison Curbishley said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “What better way to head into the world indoors?”

With the World Indoor Championships in Poland fast approaching, Hodgkinson, who is yet to win a world indoor medal, now heads into the event as the athlete to beat, carrying both momentum and history firmly on her side.