Keely Hodgkinson to Compete Over Shorter Distance in Glasgow

Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson is set to drop down in distance and tackle the 400m at an upcoming meet in Glasgow on March 1.

The move comes after a sensational 800m season opener at the UK Indoor Championships, where she clocked a blistering 1:56.33, including a rapid 56.28 split for the first 400m.

Keely Hodgkinson's current indoor personal best for the 400m is 52.42, a time she set in 2022. However, her recent form suggests she is capable of challenging that mark and potentially nearing her outdoor best of 51.61.

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The British star is no stranger to the two-lap event, having won a bronze medal with a powerful late surge at the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships in Espoo.

In Glasgow, she will face a formidable domestic rival in Issy Boffey. Boffey, also an 800m specialist, recently turned heads with a stunning 1:57.43 performance on January 30, which briefly stood as the world-leading time.

Like Keely Hodgkinson, Boffey's indoor 400m personal best of 53.39 dates back to 2022, but her current impressive form indicates a significant revision could be on the cards.

Keely Hodgkinson will be accompanied in Glasgow by several training partners from the M11 group, coached by Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows. Among them is Georgia Hunter-Bell, the 2025 World Athletics Championships silver medallist in the 800m.

The Glasgow event will mark Hunter-Bell's first 800m race since her silver medal-winning performance in Tokyo.

She continues to balance the 800m and 1500m disciplines as she builds towards the Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships. Fellow M11 athlete Ethan Hussey will compete in the men's 800m.

The women's 1500m field is headlined by European and world finalist Katie Snowden. She will be joined by Erin Wallace and Ava Lloyd, who was part of the bronze medal-winning relay team at the 2025 SPAR European Cross Country Championships.