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Keely Hodgkinson has set her sights on breaking one of the oldest world records on the track after winning gold in the 800 metres at the Paris Olympics.
Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 800m record of one minute and 53.28 seconds has stood for more than 40 years and, following her triumph at the Stade de France this month, Hodgkinson says she now has her sights set on it.
Hodgkinson told the PA news agency: “It’s definitely something I’ve been thinking about since I rode in London. I think that record has stood for so long (1983).
“It’s been a long time since anyone has done (one minute and) 53 seconds, so I would love to do that. I think I can. I believe now that I can do that.”
The 22-year-old’s winning time in Paris was a relatively modest 1:56.72, but her confidence has skyrocketed since her time of 1:54.61 in London in July.
The only other woman to run the 800 m in under 1:54.00 was Russian Nadezhda Olizarenko in 1980.
“I think we should embrace the knowledge we have about the sport today and the emerging technology. That’s what’s helping us get to these world records,” Hodgkinson said.
The Leigh-born athlete will not take a break from the sport until after the Diamond League finals in Brussels on 13 and 14 September, when she will attempt to win her third title.
I have European gold and Olympic gold, but no World Championship gold, so it would be great to try that next year.
Keely Hodgkinson
Hodgkinson told Team GB’s National Lottery homecoming event at the AO Arena in Manchester that she was looking forward to a much-needed holiday before being able to concentrate fully on preparing for next year’s World Championships.
“The World Championships in Tokyo at the end of September to mid-October are about the (gold) medal, which I don’t have,” she added.
“I have European gold and Olympic gold, but no World Championship gold yet. So it would be great to try that next year.”
Hodgkinson’s British teammate Georgia Bell said she had not yet decided whether to become a full-time athlete after winning the bronze medal in the 1500m.
Bell, 30, who only returned to the sport just over three years ago after losing interest in running and putting her spikes on hold for five years, still works for a cybersecurity software company in London.
She told the PA news agency: “I took a break in the summer to concentrate on the Olympics and the plan is to go back in September. It was obviously the right thing to do.”
“Work has been really supportive and we’ll see what happens. I think it’s going to be really difficult to juggle both.
“I tried that a lot last year and was exhausted all the time. I think the break from May 1st, where I could really recover, train and do everything right, had a huge impact on my performance.
“I think that’s clear. So it’s something I’ll think about.”
::The National Lottery’s Team GB Homecoming event, broadcast on BBC1 on Sunday (8.30pm), will celebrate athletes and thank Lottery participants for helping to raise £1.5 billion in funding for elite sport.
