Keely Hodgkinson Aims to Break 800m Olympic Women’s World Record After Four Decades

Keely Hodgkinson has set her eyes on breaking the 800m women’s world record, which has stood for more than 40 years.

The 22-year-old, who won gold in the distance at the Olympic Games in Paris, is now aiming for an old track world record.

Jarmila Kratochvilova, a Czech athlete, ran a record 800m run of one minute and 53.28 seconds at Munich’s Olympic Stadium in July 1983.

Keely Hodgkinson’s winning time in Paris was 1:56.72, but her confidence has grown since she ran 1:54.61 in London in July.

At a special ‘Team GB’s Homecoming’ event at Manchester’s AO Arena, Keely Hodgkinson stated: “It’s definitely something I’ve thought about since I raced in London.

“I believe the record has remained for so long. It’s been a long time since anyone has clocked [one minute and 53 seconds], so I’d want to accomplish it. I believe I can. “I now believe I can do it.”

Georgia Bell, the Olympic 1500m bronze medallist, is yet to determine if she wants to pursue a full-time athletic career.

The 30-year-old only started running again three years ago after losing interest in the sport.

Bell continues to work for a cyber security software company in London.

“I’ve been on a break over the summer to focus on the Olympics and the plan is to go back in September,” she said the crowd.

“Work has been quite helpful, and we will see what happens. I believe it will be quite tough to balance both. So this is something I’ll think about.”

Toby Roberts became the first British athlete to win an Olympic medal in sports climbing, winning gold in the boulder and lead event in Paris.

The 19-year-old stated that things have “been a bit of a blur” since then, adding that it “feels surreal to have this medal around my neck right now.”

He elaborated: “I’ve always seen myself as a climber who loves competing and to be among all these great athletes in this environment feels like a dream really.”