Keely Hodgkinson is chasing history on her home track. The 24-year-old Olympic 800m champion is targeting the women's 800m world record—a mark that has stood untouched for 43 years—when she returns to London Stadium for the Diamond League in July. It's a moment that feels personal in every way: the venue where British fans will rally behind her, the record that's eluded the sport's fastest runners for four decades, and the chance to claim athletic immortality on soil that launched her to Olympic glory.
Set by Czech runner Jarmila Kratochvilova in July 1983, the record stands at one minute 53.28 seconds. No one has come close in over four decades. Hodgkinson, fresh off what she describes as the best winter training block of her career, believes this is her moment. The evidence is convincing: despite an injury-disrupted 2025, she didn't miss a single training session, and in February she proved her form by smashing the world indoor record—a statement of intent that few can argue with.
This year presents an unusual opportunity for Hodgkinson to focus entirely on pushing records rather than chasing medals at a global championship. For the first time in five years, there is no major outdoor championship demanding athletes' attention in 2025. That means her laser focus can stay fixed on one goal: rewriting the oldest women's world record in the distance events. Hodgkinson describes the prospect of her London moment with genuine excitement, noting how the energy of a British crowd fuels her performance. "I get really excited about London and the crowd," she said. "As a British person, competing there is so much fun."
She won't be alone in her record-hunting mission. Her British teammate Josh Kerr has announced his own ambitious plan to target the men's mile world record—which has stood since 1999—on the same day, Saturday, 18 July. The convergence has taken on a playful tone. "It might be a battle of the world records," Hodgkinson joked. "Who can get a better one?" The question itself captures the spirit of what could be an extraordinary evening in London athletics: two British runners, home crowd roaring behind them, both taking aim at records that have shaped the sport's landscape.
For Hodgkinson, claiming this record would cement her legacy beyond the Olympic stage. The Paris 2024 gold was a triumph, but world records transcend a single Games—they become part of sporting folklore. Setting one in front of a London crowd, in the city where her career has flourished, would be the narrative she's dreamed of. The record has lasted so long not because it was untouchable, but because no one has quite pieced together the perfect storm of talent, preparation, conditions, and self-belief needed to break it.
With her winter preparation done and injury worries behind her, Hodgkinson heads toward July with genuine conviction. The stage is set, the target is clear, and the clock on Kratochvilova's 43-year reign is ticking.