British Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson set a new women's indoor 800m world record of 1:54.87 at a meeting in Liévin, France, on 19 February 2026. The 23-year-old shaved 0.95 seconds off the previous mark held by Slovenia's Jolanda Ceplak since 3 March 2002, the day Hodgkinson was born. She followed a pacemaker through the early stages before pulling away to victory.
Keely Hodgkinson, the reigning Olympic 800m champion from Paris 2024, produced a commanding performance at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais Trophée EDF, part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series. Racing in the Arena Stade Couvert, she clocked 1:54.87, subject to ratification, improving on Ceplak's 1:55.82 from the European Championships in Vienna. The record had stood for nearly 24 years and was controversial due to Ceplak's later two-year doping ban, along with that of runner-up Stephanie Graf from that race.
Hodgkinson, who opened her season with a 1:56.33 at the UK Indoor Championships in Birmingham last weekend—bettering her own national record by almost a second—entered the race with clear intent. She had stated beforehand, "I feel like it is my record to break." A pacemaker, Poland's Anna Gryc, led through the first lap at around 55.56 to 56.01 seconds, with Hodgkinson passing 200m in 26.47 to 26.80 seconds and 600m in 1:25.06. She then accelerated, never losing touch with the wavelights set for the record pace, to finish well clear.
Switzerland's Audrey Werro placed second in 1:58.38, with Ethiopia's Olympic silver medallist Tsige Duguma third in 1:58.83. After crossing the line, Hodgkinson said, "That was really fun. I've been really looking forward to this for a good few weeks, so thank you for the amazing crowd – I could hear them all the way around." She was adorned with a golden crown and celebrated with her coaches, Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, and training partner Georgia Hunter-Bell, who won the women's 1500m earlier that evening.
This marks Hodgkinson's second world record, following her 600m best in 2023, and makes her the first British athlete since Jonathan Edwards in 1995 to hold a current world record in a championship event. After hamstring injuries in 2025, she described this winter as her "healthiest" in years, positioning her well for the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland next month, where she seeks a global indoor medal.
