Keely Hodgkinson Nears 43-Year-Old 800m Record as Women Close on 1:53.28 Mark
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 12
Keely Hodgkinson Nears 43-Year-Old 800m Record as Women Close on 1:53.28 Mark
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 12
Summary
Keely Hodgkinson arrives at the European Championships as one of three leading contenders circling Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 1:53.28 women’s 800m world record, which has stood since 1983.
Audrey Werro moved closest in June with 1:53.80, while Hodgkinson set an indoor world record of 1:54.87 in February and Femke Broeders-Bol ran 1:55.60 after switching from 400m hurdles.
Coaches and sports scientists say the event’s recent jump owes to a deeper field, improved shoe technology and sharper use of fueling and supplements including creatine, nitrate and bicarbonate.
Kratochvilova’s mark remains contentious because of long-running doping suspicions around 1980s Eastern Bloc athletics, though she has denied wrongdoing and efforts to void pre-2005 records went nowhere.
With the top three 800m runners expected in Birmingham’s final if they clear the semi-finals, the race could show whether a tactical championship pace or an all-out speed battle brings the record down.