Keely Hodgkinson’s coaches believe that she is showing the form in training to potentially challenge both the world 800m indoor and outdoor records
After being crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Keely Hodgkinson already has eyes on breaking even more records next season.
The 22-year-old, who became Olympic 800m champion and went unbeaten over two laps all year, will make her first appearance since the summer at a meeting named the “Keely Klassic”, which takes place in Birmingham on February 15, 2025.
The aim? To take down take down Jolanda Čeplak’s world indoor 800m record of 1:55.82.
Čeplak, who notably served a doping ban between 2007 and 2009, recorded that mark on March 3, 2002, which was the same day that Hodgkinson was born.
Immediately after the Paris Olympics, Hodgkinson ended her season – citing a minor hamstring injury – before taking a well deserved break.
Keely Hodgkinson (BBC)
The Brit is now back in training and last night swapped her high-altitude camp in Potchefstroom, South Africa, for the red carpet at Media City in Salford.
Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, who coach Hodgkinson and just short of 20 other elite athletes at M11 Track Club, also won the BBC Sports Personality Coaches of the Year award.
Meadows, a world and European medallist over 800m herself, believes that anything is possible for the British middle-distance runner over the next couple of years.
“We’ve seen all the hard work she’s been doing behind the scenes and I just know this will be the beginning for Keely,” Meadows told AW. “She’s got huge ambitions in the sport and she won’t stop until she’s won at least another gold medal at LA 2028. She’ll probably go beyond that as well.
“We feel we now know how Keely can get both the indoor and outdoor world 800m record. We know when to push and back off and we’ve also trialled some things in training. Of course it always relies on consistency. The big aim in 2025 would be to win both the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing and World Outdoor Championships in Tokyo. Sounds easy doesn’t it?!”
Jenny Meadows with Trevor Painter and Keely Hodgkinson (Getty)
Meadows also states that she thinks Hodgkinson will be best placed to break Jarmila Kratochvilova’s world outdoor record of 1:53.28 – the oldest in the athletics books (1983) – in 2026.
“In two years it’s probably the right time for the outdoor world record,” she added. “Physically we know Keely can…
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