Keely Hodgkinson convinced 800m world record back within reach after injury woes

Keely Hodgkinson is “100 per cent” certain breaking athletics’ longest-standing world record is only a matter of time.

The Olympic gold medallist has arrived at the World Championships as the fastest woman over 800 metres this year, “a bit of a miracle”, Hodgkinson marvels, after the year-long injury absence that left her experiencing “unpredictable mood swings” and unsure just two months ago whether she would even be fit to fight for a maiden world title next week in Tokyo.

The 23-year-old played down the likelihood of lowering Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 42-year-old mark of one minute 53.28 seconds in the same Japanese stadium where Hodgkinson collected silver as a 19-year-old Olympic debutant in 2021, but she is at least open to surprises.

“We know it’s in there, but it ain’t going to come out every day,” said Hodgkinson, whose title bid begins with next Thursday’s heats.

“It’s not going to be world class every single day, but I thought it was possible last year, we’ve now managed to get to it again in another year, so you just keep building.

“I’m still young and hopefully I’m going to get stronger every year. I do think it’s possible (at some point), 100 per cent. It’s just how, when, where and all of that.

“Is championships the best place? Probably not. But if it happens naturally, you know, some of the girls are running really fast, they probably will want a fast race, but it’s probably going to be down to me to set that.”

Hodgkinson believes world record-breaking form is achievable only in fleeting windows – and predicting when they will occur is not straightforward.

She added: “When you’re aiming for a time like that, you’re only going to be in that shape for a 10-day period. It would be great if that was now, but I’ll only know next week when I run, do some training sessions.”

That Hodgkinson is even entertaining the possibility is remarkable.

Her triumph at the Paris Olympics last year was followed by a series of injuries, including the recurrence of a knee issue then tears to both hamstrings.

Even the “incredible day” of her MBE investiture ceremony in May came with complications.

Eight hours spent in the car travelling to and from Windsor Castle triggered back pain, indicating to Hodgkinson that “something was wrong”.

“(The training group) would get told that I had unpredictable mood swings at the time,” Hodgkinson revealed.

“Some days I’d walk in and I’d be really happy and other days it’s like ‘don’t talk to me’, but we managed to get through.”

Hodgkinson added: “I just wanted the best, fastest and safest way to come back as quickly as possible.

“I put my heart and soul into this. I spend all my life doing it, so for that to be taken away and not doing it was definitely challenging.

“But I do think going through that was probably one of the best things that could happen to me as an athlete. It’s just really big character-building, to be honest, and I think it’s taught me a lot about myself. I feel like a better version of me.”

Hodgkinson, runner-up at the last two World Championships, made an emphatic return to the track last month, laying down a world-leading 1:54.74 at the Silesia Diamond League meet.

And, after running with the weight of Britain’s expectations on her shoulders in Paris, she is feeling much lighter in Tokyo.

“Nothing can be worse than last year,” she added. “That was so much pressure, but I feel like we’ve gone above that now and experienced that.

“I know how to deal with it. As long as I do my best race, it’s all I can be happy with.

“Obviously I want to win the gold and hopefully I will, but I’m not really feeling the pressure this year.

“To be honest, I’m chilling.”