For Keeley Hodgkinson, the expectations are already there. With her main rival, reigning Olympic champion Athing Mu, unable to defend her 800m title in Paris, Britain’s three-time global silver medalist is ready to step up and win gold. But what now? She appeared to have made Olympic gold a formality as she treated London Diamond League crowds to the fastest 800m time since Caster Semenya in 2018. If there was an illness or injury, surely no one could compete with her.
Her compatriot Matthew Hudson-Smith also has to deal with such huge expectations after breaking his own European 400m record and climbing to the top of the world rankings.
However, Hodgkinson’s run did much more than that. It raises a previously unimaginable question. If the 22-year-old can run 1 minute, 54.61 seconds, can the world record of 1.53 minutes, 28 seconds set by Jarmila Kratochvilova in 1983 be broken?
“We’re getting closer,” Hodgkinson said. “Do I think it’s beatable? Right now, I’d say yes. It’s going to take a very special game. But [today] happened. Hopefully I’ll have a long time to try it.
This is a stunning display of her world-class authority. Shortly after the bell, she overtook the starting blocks and beat her opponent from the front, taking firm control of the race and not allowing anyone else a peek.
Jemma Reekie, who finished fourth at the last Olympics, held on until the home straight but quickly spun out of control. Reekie clocked a personal best time of 1.55 minutes and 61 seconds, ranking second in the UK all-time rankings and the 2024 world rankings. Georgia Bell finished third in Team GB’s one-two-three event in 1.56 minutes and 28 seconds. The much-anticipated golden age of middle distance running in the UK appears to have arrived.
“I know I have the ability to do this,” Hodgkinson said. “I’ve been fighting a few things along the way. I’ve been waiting for a big opportunity to put my mind to it and put in a really fast time.
Hodgkinson attributes her continued improvement to a series of near-misses en route to silver medals at the Olympics and the past two world championships. “This year I found the right resolution,” she said. “I’ve always wanted a gold medal, but the Olympics rarely happen. I just remember walking off the track at Worlds last year and saying, ‘I’m not going to finish second again.
It’s been a long road for Hudson-Smith, who won European silver as a teenager in 2014 but waited eight years to win his first global individual medal, followed by the World 400 meters bronze and silver medals. He set a European record of 44.07 seconds in May but broke it this year with a time of 43.74 seconds to become the fastest time in the world. Only one other runner, Quincy Hall, ran sub-44 seconds in 2024.
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“That’s exactly what I and my team are aiming for, to take the world lead in time for Paris,” he said. “Before I left I wrote 43.70 on a piece of paper. I knew at 370m I had it in the bag, so I relaxed. I still have a lot more. I’m in good shape. It’s been a long stretch for me Playing a tournament healthy for the first time in a while, I was in a wheelchair with my Achilles for this game last year. [injury]. What a difference a year makes.
U.S. 100m and 200m world champion Noah Lyles showed his Olympic readiness by winning the sprint race in a personal best time of 9.81 seconds. British champion and college student Louie Hinchliffe earned bragging rights for his country by finishing fourth in a time of 9.97.
Hinchliffe had a perfect performance on his British relay debut, but it ended in disaster. Six weeks after failing in the European preliminary rounds, the men’s 4x100m team failed to pick up the baton when leading in the final race. The women’s team were even happier, having tied the national record of 41.55 seconds as they looked to improve on the bronze medals they had won at the past two Olympics.
