Olympic champion, world record holder, double European champion and two-time European indoor champion Keely Hodgkinson will look to fill one of the final gaps on her glittering athletics CV when she lines up at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Kujawy Pomorze, Poland this week (20–22 March).
The British star has finished on the podium three times at the World Athletics Championships but never on the top step. She claimed silver in both Oregon 2022 and Budapest 2023 before taking bronze in Tokyo 2025.
After a disrupted 2025 season hampered by injury, the 24-year-old now appears to be back at the peak of her powers. In February she stormed to a stunning 800m world indoor record of 1:54.87 in Liévin. Has the moment finally arrived for her to take her first world title?
More muscle mass
A world indoor title has also eluded her so far in an already remarkable career. In fact, Hodgkinson has never raced at the event. She went into the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade as the pre-event favourite but withdrew on the eve of the competition due to a quad injury.
Now, though, Hodgkinson may be stronger than ever. A revamped training programme incorporating cycling and strength work has added 6kg of muscle since she won Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Meadows, McKean and near misses
Victory in Poland would not only mark a personal milestone but would also carry wider significance for British athletics – particularly for her mentor, Jenny Meadows.
No British woman has ever won a world 800m title, indoors or outdoors. Tom McKean’s triumph in the men’s 800m at the 1993 World Athletics Indoor Championships remains the only British victory in the event at a global championships.
Meadows herself was among several British athletes forced to settle for silver, finishing second to Russia’s Mariya Savinova at the 2010 World Indoor Championships. Savinova was later banned for four years for doping and stripped of Olympic, world and European titles, though not that world indoor gold.
If Hodgkinson needs any extra motivation, she need look no further than the experiences of her mentor.
Glittering moment?
The Arena Toruń will also evoke fond memories. It was here, at the Toruń 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships, that Hodgkinson claimed her first senior title.
Audrey Werro of Switzerland appears the most plausible challenger for gold. Yet when the pair met in Liévin earlier this year, Hodgkinson left the Swiss runner more than three seconds behind as she surged to that world record.
Her commitment to also be part of Great Britain's 4x400m team adds to the sense of confidence flowing from Hodgkinson right now.
With training partner Georgia Hunter Bell also among the favourites for 1500m gold, the British group in Toruń will arrive in a buoyant mood.
The stars appear to be aligning for Hodgkinson.
Surely Sunday 22 March will become another golden night in her glittering career.