Keely Hodgkinson sets new sights on breaking 40-year-old 800m world record

Keely Hodgkinson has targeted breaking one of the oldest track world records after winning 800 metre gold at the Paris Olympics.

Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova’s record 800m time of one minute and 53.28 seconds has stood for more than 40 years and after her triumph this month at the Stade de France, Hodgkinson says she has it in her sights.

Hodgkinson told the PA news agency: “It’s definitely something I’ve thought about since I raced in London. I think that record has stood for so long (1983).

“It’s been a long time since anyone has hit (one minute and) 53 seconds, so I’d love to do that. I think I can. I now believe I can do that.”

The 22-year-old’s winning time in Paris was a relatively modest 1:56.72, but her confidence has soared since clocking 1:54.61 in London in July.

The only other female to run 800m in under 1:54.00 is Russian Nadezhda Olizarenko in 1980.

“I think now with the science we have in the sport and the technology that’s up and coming, we should welcome it and that’s what’s helping us get near these world records,” Hodgkinson said.

The Leigh athlete will not be taking a break from the sport until after the Diamond League final in Brussels on September 13-14, when she will be bidding for her third title.

Hodgkinson, speaking at The National Lottery’s Team GB Homecoming event at Manchester’s AO Arena, said a much-needed holiday would follow before her focus will switch towards the build-up to next year’s World Championships.

“The worlds, late September into the middle of October in Tokyo, it’s the (gold) medal I don’t have,” she added.

“I have European gold, I’ve got Olympic gold, but I don’t have a world gold so it would be really great to try and do that next year.”

Hodgkinson’s Team GB team-mate Georgia Bell said she has yet to decide whether to become a full-time athlete after winning bronze in the 1500m.

Bell, 30, who only returned to the sport just over three years ago after falling out of love with running and shelving her spikes for five years, still works for a a cyber security software company in London.

She told the PA news agency: “I’ve been on a break over the summer to focus on the Olympics and the plan is to go back in September. It was obviously the right thing to do.

“Work have been super-supportive and we’ll see what happens. I think it will be really difficult to balance both.

“I tried to do that for a lot of last year and I was exhausted all the time. I think taking the break from May 1 to actually recover, train and do everything right – that has had such an impact on my performance.

“I think that’s clear. So it’s something I’m going to think about.”

::The National Lottery’s Team GB Homecoming event, to be broadcast on BBC1 on Sunday (8.30pm) celebrates the athletes and is a chance to thanks those who take part in the lottery for helping to raise £1.5billion of funding for elite sport.