Olympic gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson has declared she feels “closest” to breaking the women’s 800m outdoor world record, fresh from her recent indoor triumph.
The 23-year-old recently shattered the indoor world record in Lievin and now has her sights firmly set on the outdoor feat, which remains the longest-standing world record in track athletics.
The formidable outdoor record has been held by Jarmila Kratochvilova for nearly 43 years, with a time of one minute 53.28 seconds set in July 1983 at the World Athletics Championships in Munich.
Hodgkinson believes that achieving this monumental milestone would solidify her legacy as one of the sport’s all-time greats.
Speaking to BBC Sport, she stated: “I think the outdoor record would be cemented GOAT (greatest of all time).
“It’s stood for a long time and been a long time since anyone’s been able to get near it. I do think it’s possible. It’s a difficult record and a reason why it has stood for 40 odd years.
“It’s literally the oldest record on track so it will be real accomplishment to get near it and hopefully break it.
“I think this is the closest I’ve felt near it. I do really believe that we can break it, but a lot of things have got to come together.”
Hodgkinson has already achieved some remarkable feats in her career after bursting onto the scene by winning a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
She followed that up by claiming further silver medals at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games in 2022 before winning another silver at the 2023 World Championships.
Hodgkinson finally got on the top step of the podium at the 2024 Olympics but struggled with injuries last year as she could only managed third place at the World Championships.
She has returned to full fitness this year, though, and is now targeting another world record.
