‘If You Want to Beat Me…’ - Keely Hodgkinson Tells Lilian Odira, Mary Moraa and Co What They Need to Catch Up

Keely Hodgkinson's competitors may be relieved that this season features neither a World Outdoor Championships nor an Olympic Games, as the British star declared she is in "the shape of her life" after securing the world indoor 800m gold medal.

The 24-year-old dominated the field in Torun, Poland, on Sunday, leading from start to finish in a commanding performance. She clocked a blistering 1:55.30, a time that not only set a new championship record but also stands as the second-fastest indoor 800m ever run. This comes just a month after Hodgkinson established a new world indoor record in the same event.

With the indoor season concluded, attention now shifts to Hodgkinson's outdoor campaign. The calendar includes opportunities for European and Commonwealth titles on home ground, culminating in the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest this September.

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Her recent form has sparked speculation about a potential challenge to one of athletics' most enduring records: the outdoor 800m world record of 1:53.28, set by Jarmila Kratochvilova of the former Czechoslovakia back in 1983.

"It feels so, so nice being able to run and win. This is my first world title," Hodgkinson, whose victory followed that of her training partner, Georgia Hunter Bell, in the women's 1,500m said as per the News Pakistan.

"I have been in so many finals, I have been a favourite so many times and I had not won," she reflected. Hodgkinson has an impressive collection of 11 international medals but had previously been denied the top spot at three world outdoor championships, earning two silvers and a bronze. "To do that and prove to myself that I can do it, remove the pressure and win the gold, it’s nice."

She added a bold statement of intent: "My word this year has been ‘domination’—so when I’m in the shape of my life, why leave it to chance? If you want to beat me, you’re going to have to work hard. I never, ever go down without a fight."

Both Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell are coached by the husband-and-wife duo of Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, herself a former world outdoor bronze (2009) and indoor silver (2010) medallist in the 800m.

"Me and Georgia, we work hard and we push each other at every practice—we are both in the shape of our lives," Hodgkinson said.