British athlete Keely Hodgkinson has set a new world record in the women’s 800m indoor, smashing the previous time by almost a second.
Hodgkinson crossed the finish line in 1:54.88 in Lievin, France.
The previous record of of 1:55.82 was set by Slovenia's Jolanda Ceplak on the day the Briton was born almost 24 years ago.
The record has stood since March 3, 2002.
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It comes just days after the 23-year-old days smashing her own British indoor 800m record at the UK Indoor Championships in Birmingham by nearly a second.
Following the race, Hodgkinson said: "Thank god. That was really fun, I was really looking forward to this."
The 23-year-old now stands alongside triple jumper Jonathan Edwards as the sole British athlete currently holding world records in championship events.
Her triumph comes after a challenging 2025 season, during which two significant hamstring injuries derailed her plans to chase the record at her own Keely Klassic meeting last February.
British athlete Keely Hodgkinson has set a new world record in the women’s 800m indoor
|GETTY
Hodgkinson passed the 400m mark even quicker than planned, clocking 55.56 seconds before surging clear of the field.
The British star faced quality opposition, with Ethiopia's Tsige Duguma, the Olympic silver medallist, and Switzerland's Audrey Werro among her rivals on the start line.
Werro had been the year's fastest woman before Hodgkinson overtook her in the rankings.
Throughout the race, Hodgkinson tracked the green wavelights on the inside of the track, which represented record pace.
Hodgkinson crossed the finish line in 1:54.88 in Lievin, France
|GETTY
She has now won 11 of her last 12 races over the 800m distance.
Hodgkinson came through 400 metres in just under 56 seconds and stayed on pace over the final two laps.
It is the second world record of her career.
She also holds the women’s 600m world best time of 1:23.41.
The British athlete has already cemented her name as a legendary British athlete
|GETTY
The British athlete has already cemented her name as a legendary British athlete.
Hodgkinson, who has represented Team GB at the Olympics, will turn 24 on March 3.
She earned silver medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, followed by a bronze at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.
The runner is a two-time European outdoor champion (2022, 2024), two-time European indoor champion (2021, 2023), and the British outdoor record holder.
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