Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson and Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis have been voted women’s and men’s Athlete of the Month for February 2026.
Five female and five male athletes were nominated for the accolade based purely on their exploits throughout the month with voting taking place across the week on the European Athletics website.
Hodgkinson fulfils her destiny
Hodgkinson has started her 2026 season in blistering form. After a gun-to-tape 1:56.33 in the 800m at the British Indoor Championships, Hodgkinson shattered the world indoor 800m record with a 1:54.87 clocking in Lievin to become the first woman to break the 1:55-barrier indoors.
Hodgkinson took almost one second off the world indoor record of 1:55.82 which was set by Slovenia’s Jolanda Ceplak at the 2002 European Athletics Indoor Championships on the same day she was born.
Hodgkinson followed the pacemaker through 400m in 56.01 before reaching 600m with only the wavelights for company in 1:25.06. Hodgkinson was more than one second ahead of Ceplak’s world record pace at the bell and the Brit ground out a sub-30 second last lap to break the 1:55-barrier.
What she said:
"I wouldn’t have been very happy if I had just run 1:55 to be honest. I knew I was in much better shape than that. I wasn’t coming here to break the world record, I was coming here to run as fast as I can. I think there’s more to push…the last couple of years I’ve really wanted [the record].
“It feels a bit weird how it was set on the day I was born. 24 years later, I’ve taken it. It’s really special. It’s nice to have a world record and to say I’m the best to ever do it.”
New ground broken for Karalis
Karalis vaulted to second on the world all-time list behind Armand Duplantis in the pole vault, leapfrogging former world record-holders Sergey Bubka and Renaud Lavillenie with a 6.17m clearance at the Greek Indoor Championships.
Karalis even had two attempts at a world record height of 6.31m in front of his home fans in Painaia and while he was unsuccessful on this occasion, the charismatic Greek star will ensure that Duplantis, who is unbeaten in 37 competitions since July 2023, will face some tangible competition in 2026.
Karalis also cleared 6.00m earlier in February in Lievin, beating Duplantis for the accolade of the first 6.00m-plus vault of 2026.
What he said:
"I don't know what's going on guys! I'm living a dream, don't wake me up! I'm very happy. I managed to make one of my dreams come true here in Paiania, the home of athletics.
“I can't imagine at all that I surpassed Sergey Bubka and Renaud Lavillenie. It was definitely something I always wanted to do, we believed in it, I said it to myself, but achieving it is something very great.” (via gazzetta.gr)
Photos from James Rhodes and Nikolopoulos Eurokinissi