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Keely Hodgkinson says she is aiming for a new world record after breaking the British 800m mark at the UK Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham.<\/b><\/p>\n
The 23-year-old, who won Olympic gold in 2024, clocked 1:56.33 in the heats on Saturday to beat her own national record by almost one second.<\/p>\n
It was the fastest time in a women’s indoor 800m race in 24 years and the third-fastest in history.<\/p>\n
Having announced beforehand that she would not compete in Sunday’s final because she is due to race in France on Thursday, Hodgkinson described the run as “a personal challenge”.<\/p>\n
The event in the Midlands counts towards athletes qualifying for the World Indoor Championships in Poland from 20-22 March.<\/p>\n
“I had to come to qualify for the Worlds and that is why I was only doing one round,” she said.<\/p>\n
“But it was a good test. It is three years since I ran indoors, so I knew I had to go out there and stay focused.<\/p>\n
“We didn’t set out to run a world lead, but I started well and just kept it going. It was a nice surprise. It was a really strong day.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n