Keely Hodgkinson: World Indoor Gold in Sight for British Queen as She Looks to Emulate David Rudisha

Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson can now start strategising on how to make history after making it to the 800m final at the ongoing 2026 World Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland.

Hodgkinson, who is firm favourite to win gold, won her semi-final heat with ease on Saturday to make it to the final and recorded the best time of the round after clocking 1:58.53.

The 24-year-old was not troubled as she led from start to finish with American Addison Wiley, her closest challenger after finishing second in 1.58.75.

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Hodgkinson was joined in the final by Wiley, Audrey Werro (1:59.27) from Switzerland, Ethiopian Nigst Getachew (1:59.46), Hayley Kitching of Australia, who clocked 2:00.06, and Frenchwoman Clara Liberman, who timed 2:00.28.

Neither of the other five athletes have the time and form of Hodgkinson, who came into the championship on the back of lowering the British short-track record from 1:57.18 to 1:56.33 at the UK Indoor Championships before breaking the long-standing world indoor 800m record in Lievin with 1:54.87 last month.

It is therefore widely expected that the Olympics champion will win gold, a first global title, barring an unfortunate injury, but what is now being debated is whether she will break the world record on her way to victory.

That would put her in an exclusive club, joining Kenyan 800m legend David Rudisha, who broke the long-standing world record of 1:40.91 while winning gold at the 2012 London Olympics.

It is extra pressure on Manchester-born Hodgkinson but she will be relishing the challenge after such a great start to her 2026 season. The women’s 800m final is slated for Sunday night at 9.53pm (East African time).