Keely Hodgkinson 'surprised herself' with relay charge after world indoors gold
Keely Hodgkinson admitted even she was stunned by her form after securing her first world title in Sunday's 800 metres final at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland.
The 24-year-old Olympic champion – who hails from Atherton, and is trained by Wigan duo Trevor Painter and his wife, Jenny Meadows – cruised to the finish in a championship record one minute, 55.3 seconds, the second-fastest indoor performance in history behind the world record she set last month in Lievin.
All the buzz on Monday morning was around Great Britain's three golds in 30 minutes - for Hodgkinson, her training partner Georgia Hunter Bell in the 1500m and pole vaulter Molly Caudery.
But Hodgkinson herself was more keen to discuss her blistering anchor leg in the women's 4x400m relay final.
"Me running 23.4 through 200m has me gagggeedd lmao, sometimes I surprise myself!" she wrote on Twitter.
Coach Meadows replied: "Never surprise me, babe."
The experimental British team of Tess McHugh, Dina Asher-Smith , Louisa Stoney and Hodgkinson ultimately finished fifth, well off the pace of the American champions.
Still, the insertion of Hodgkinson and three-time Olympic 4x100m relay medallist Asher-Smith - arguably the even bigger surprise in the line-up - certainly raised eyebrows.
It also provoked excited debate about the future potential for Great Britain in the event, with Amber Anning, the 2025 world indoor 400m champion, and Laviai Nielsen, who collected a pair of 4x400m relay bronzes at the Paris 2024 Olympics, among those who skipped the world indoors.
Hodgkinson's 50.1 overall split was the fastest leg of any woman in the relay, all the more astonishing given the race started less than an hour after she crossed the finish in the 800m.
Afterwards, she revealed the cameo had been a long time coming, and was delighted the stars finally aligned in Torun.
"The thing is I knew I could do it," she told Citius Mag. "I was saying to these people, 'Give me that f****** baton, and and I will give you a 50-point', so I'm ecstatic with myself."
Hodgkinson is in the shape of her life after bouncing back from an injury-plagued 2025. Sunday's title, she hopes, can kick off a prolific season.
She remains brimming with confidence that another world record is a matter of when, not if.
The women's outdoor 800m record of one minute, 53.28 seconds, set nearly 43 years ago by Jarmila Kratochvilova , is the oldest in track and field.
Hodgkinson added: "To have that confidence back in me, I've not missed anything. I was like, 'If you're beating me, you're going to run damn fast to do it'.
"I wanted to go out there and put on a bit of a show. I felt like I had the strength. Three rounds in three days is tough, but I did it!"
Immediately after the race, she’d told the BBC: "I think my word this year has been domination. I think when I'm in the shape of my life, why leave it to chance, you know? If you're going to beat me, I'll make you work hard for it."