Keely Hodgkinson wins gold as she storms 800m title in record time

The 24-year-old from Atherton in Wigan took gold in one minute 55.30 seconds

Keely Hodgkinson stormed to 800m gold in a championship record time on a stellar evening for Great Britain at the World Indoor Championships in Poland.

The 24-year-old from Atherton in Wigan, who set a new world indoor 800m record last month, took gold in one minute 55.30 seconds and then returned to the track to run the anchor leg in the women’s 4x400m relay final – part of an experimental quartet which also featured surprise addition Dina Asher-Smith.

It capped off an astonishing half-an-hour for Britain in Torun, where Hodgkinson’s training partner Georgia Hunter Bell also secured her own first global gold in the 1500m, moments before Molly Caudery reclaimed the pole vault title she won two years ago in Glasgow.

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“I think my word this year has been domination,” Hodgkinson, who led the 800m final from the start, told the BBC after the fifth-place relay finish. “I think when I’m in the shape of my life, why leave it to chance, you know? If you’re going to beat me, I’ll make you work hard for it.”

Hodgkinson beat Swiss silver medallist Audrey Werro in the 800m final by 1.34secs, while American Addison Wiley rounded out the podium.

It was a full-circle moment for the 24-year-old, who claimed her first senior title at the same venue at the 2021 European Indoors and has bounced back from an injury-plagued 2025 to start off her season with a bang.

Having secured gold at the 2024 Olympic Games, her triumph in Paris propelled her career to new heights following an initial silver medal win as a teenager at Tokyo 2021. She was previously named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

The 24-year-old graduated from Fred Longworth High School in Tyldesley. Aged 16, she became the European under-18 champion, while at 17 she won her first national senior title at the British Indoor Championships.

She first broke two minutes for the first time to set an under-20 world record, the first by a British woman in 36 years, before becoming European indoor champion. Hodgkinson was the youngest ever winner of the 800m at the event in Poland, which marked her senior international debut.