Hodgkinson targets 800m world record set in 1983

Keely Hodgkinson has set her sights on breaking the 800m women’s world record which has stood for more than four decades.

The 22-year-old won gold over the distance at the Olympic Games in Paris and has now targeted one of the oldest track world records.

Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova ran a record 800m time of one minute and 53.28 seconds at Munich’s Olympic Stadium in July 1983.

Hodgkinson’s winning time in Paris was 1:56.72, but her confidence has soared since clocking 1:54.61 in London in July.

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Speaking at a special ‘Team GB’s Homecoming’ event at Manchester’s AO Arena, Hodgkinson said: “It’s definitely something I’ve thought about since I raced in London.