Keely Hodgkinson has set her sights on breaking the long-standing women’s 800m record following her gold medal at the Olympics.
The 22-year-old took gold in Paris on Monday evening in a time of 1min 56.72sec after silver medals at the Games in Tokyo three years ago, and the World finals in 2022 and 2023.
The world record for the women’s 800m of 1:53.28 has stood since the 1983 World Championship when it was set by Czechoslovakia’s Jarmila Kratochvilova, and Hodgkinson admits it is a mark she is aiming to beat.
“That would be incredible,” Hodgkinson, whose personal best is currently a 1:54.61 set at the London Diamond League in June, told Sky Sports News.
“It’s definitely an aim we’ve spoken about in the last couple of years, and can anyone get near to it?
“What we have going on in track and field now with how we’re training, the science we have now with the tracks and shoes, I welcome it and I think it’s such a great thing.
“If I can get close to it, why not give it a go? It would be an incredible achievement.”
Hodgkinson’s victory at the Stade de France saw her become the first British female competitor to win a gold in athletics since Jessica Ennis-Hill’s heptathlon triumph in 2012.
It was Ennis-Hill who proved a childhood inspiration for Hodgkinson as well, and she was delighted to bring it full circle with her 800m triumph.
“It does mean everything to me,” Hodgkinson said. “I have so many people behind me; it is an individual sport, but there is such a team behind it.
“I owe a lot of people, and this is our moment to celebrate. I’m just super-happy it came together.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what comes of that and I guess I’ve cemented myself in a bit of history, so that’s good.”
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