Keely Hodgkinson eyes 800m world record on same day as Josh Kerr's mile attempt at London Diamond League
Published 29/05/2026 at 09:46 GMT+1
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Keely Hodgkinson has outlined her ambition to break the long-standing 800m record at the London Diamond League in July - the same meet in which Josh Kerr will look to rewrite the men's mile mark.
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The British Olympic champion, 24, is already in impressive form after breaking the women's indoor 800m record in February, having consigned the injury problems which troubled her last year to the rear-view mirror.
And Hodgkinson is now targeting one of track and field's longest-standing records with Jarmila Kratochvilova's 1983 best-ever women's 800m time of one minute 53.28 seconds on her radar.
And there could be a fight for the limelight with Scottish star Kerr, who has already made clear his aim to break the mile world record at the Diamond League meet at London Stadium on July 18.
Asked about the possibility of bettering Kratochvilova's record, Hodgkinson said: "Obviously I would love to have that happen on home soil.
"I get really excited about London and the crowd. As a British person, competing there is so much fun.
"It's definitely the main thing I'm looking forward to on the calendar this year. It might be a battle of the world records [with Kerr]. Who can get a better one?"
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Before London, Hodgkinson has 800m races in Stockholm and Eugene on the calendar, and a relatively rare 400m in Rome in early June.
She will also have an eye on July's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham in August.
"We obviously have a plan 'A' of what we would like to happen," Hodgkinson added.
"The sport has its own plans sometimes, and it is not something you can plan straight away and think, 'let's do this.'
"If I come into the shape where I think I want to go [for the record] a bit sooner, or it happens to be a bit later in the season, that could just be how it goes."
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Kerr, meanwhile, is hoping to break a record set by Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj in Rome 27 years ago.
"This sport needs moments. I think that setting my goals and being very clear on that is a huge part of giving this record the respect that it deserves," Kerr told BBC Sport in March.
"To do it in front of a British crowd would just make it extremely special. It is going to be a tough one, but I truly think that I am capable of going after these times."
Looking further ahead, Hodgkinson highlighted the importance of the World Athletics Championships coming to the UK.
A bid is in place for London to host the event in 2029, but there is a dispute with the stadium's primary tenant West Ham United, who would have to rearrange home games early in the season for the meet to take place.
"I am really passionate about it. I didn't think we would get an opportunity in my career to get another global championships back in the UK," Hodgkinson said.
"That would be not only amazing for our sport but also the people watching, inspiring the next generation and putting our sport out there.
"We would sell out that stadium every single day, I believe that wholeheartedly. We have seen that before and there's no reason why it would happen again."
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