800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson clocked 1:54.87 in the indoor 800m at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meet in Liévin, France.

The mark shattered Jolanda Ceplak’s 1:55.82 (2002) record by 0.95 seconds. It’s one of the largest world record improvements in the event’s history.

Background:

– Hodgkinson skipped the UK Indoor Championships final days earlier to stay fresh for this record bid. The move paid off, allowing her to fully target the long-standing mark. She had already shown form by opening up with a 1:56.33 world-leading run the previous weekend.

How the race unfolded:

– Hodgkinson followed the pacemaker aggressively: 200m: ~26.4 seconds; 400m: ~55.5–56.0 seconds. She took control before halfway and ran solo for much of the race. She hit 600m in 1:25.06 and closed with a 29.81 final 200m.

Takeaways:

Preet Majithia: Obviously, I'm absolutely thrilled she got it, and it felt pretty comfortable. It was never in doubt. There was a moment early in the race where Audrey Werro was there trying to cut in, and the pace went a touch quicker than expected. So I was briefly worried she'd gone out faster than planned. That may have shown at the end because she looked like she was tying up a little. But when you’re running 1:54 indoors, that's to be expected anyway. Do I think she can go 1:53 outdoors? Yes. So I'm very excited for what's to come.

Chris Chavez: They kept the post-race in-stadium interview brief because she was going full lactic after such a hard effort. The thing that stood out was her first words: "Thank God." She has wanted this for a long time. In her pre-race interview with James Rhodes, she said, “I’d be fuming if someone else got it before me! It was set on the day I was born, what’s more destiny than that?” She got it done. She's just run 1:54.87 indoors, which is super close to her own outdoor PB of 1:54.61. The world record is another full second away at 1:53.28, but Hodgkinson is in the best form of her life.

I ran the World Athletics Scoring Table to convert the indoor time to outdoor equivalent: straight up, no placing bonus, it would be worth roughly a 1:54.2 outdoors. Getting there.

Pace Lights:

Preet: We did know the pacer was set to run 55.8, which suggests she wanted to close in a 58 — and when you split it up like that, it makes a bit more sense than the lights. I think they went just a hair too fast in the first 200, and if they'd backed off slightly she would have been more comfortable at the end. She's a 51-second 400-meter runner, which is impressive but not a 49-second runner. So once you push closer to your limits, it gets uncomfortable quickly. We'll need to wait for the outdoor season to see how much more is in the tank

Chris: The pacer came through the: first 200 in 26.47, through 400 in 55.56 — so it was a 26 and then a 29. The hard part of that first 200 is that Audrey Werro inserted herself into the race. She gave it some thought for about a lap and a half, but it cost her and she finished second in 1:58. However, she's 21 years old. That's the part that will get lost: Audrey Werro just ran 1:58 at 21. And Hodgkinson’s still young herself. This record stood for nearly 24 years but I don't know if Hodgkinson’s will last as long, because she could lower it herself and there's young talent on the rise. The 800 meters indoors appears to be absolutely broken in 2026 and that’s due to a combination of factors whether it’s the new staggered start, bicarb, super spikes, faster tracks, and pacesetting lights.

More Stats:

Preet: Looking at the 800-meter all-time outdoor list: Hodgkinson now joins Caster Semenya as the only athlete to have run 1:54 on four occasions. Even the world record holder, Jarmila Kratochvílová, has only run sub-1:55 twice: once for the world record and once when she ran 1:54.68. Hodgkinson has firmly put herself on the Mount Rushmore of 800-meter greats.

Chris: Look at you with a Mt. Rushmore reference! Kyle dropped this in our group chat but Hodgkinson is the only person to run 1:54 three years in a row. However, the caveat there is that Semenya ran 1:54 in 2018 and 2019 and then the pandemic hit and also World Athletics imposed its rules requiring female athletes with specific Differences of Sex Development (DSD) to lower testosterone levels to compete in restricted events.

What Comes Next:

Hodgkinson is set to run the 400 at a meet organized by the M11 Track Club at Emirates Arena next Sunday. Her indoor 400m PB is 52.42 and her outdoor PB is 51.61. If she can get into the low 51s or 50s indoors, that's another good sign for the outdoor season.

Hodgkinson is now the heavy favorite for the 800m gold medal at the World Indoor Championships in Poland next month considering the fact that she just beat Werro (last year’s World Indoor 4th place finisher) by 3.51 seconds and Olympic silver medalist and 2024 World Indoor champion Tsgie Duguma by 3.96 seconds.

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