Keely Hodgkinson is eager to prove she is still the undisputed queen of the 800m when she takes to the track at the Alexandra Stadium in Birmingham for the European Athletics Championships.
The 2024 Olympic champion and indoor 800m world record holder was on a redemption trail in 2026 after finishing third at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo on her return from a prolonged injury lay-off.
Hodgkinson had outlined her intentions to one day beat Jarmila Kratochvilova's 43-year world record time over two laps of a track, but where Josh Kerr was successful in his aim to take down the 27-year-old mile world record, the golden girl of British athletics has endured a summer fraught with setbacks.
Sampling the 400m in a bid to improve her 800m time, Hodgkinson finished seventh in the Diamond League Rome meeting, but on her return to her favoured distance in Stockholm, she was beaten by Swiss sensation Audrey Werro, who produced the third fastest women's 800m in history.
Werro starred again three weeks later in Paris, becoming the first female athlete to clock multiple sub-1:54s as she triumphed in the French capital, while Hodgkinson had to contend with a freak injury that derailed her European Championship preparations.
The 24-year-old had both knees taped up when she was beaten by Lilian Odira at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon at the start of July. However, with the bandages off for Diamond League London, Hodgkinson was back to her domineering best as she beat Femke Bol with a time of 1:56:21.
Her inaugural victory in the competition sets the scene perfectly for a hotly contested women's 800 where Hodgkinson must overcome Werro and compatriot Georgia Hunter Bell, who arrives in Birmingham off the back of a stunning Commonwealth Games sucess.
“Birmingham is the important part now, so I'm really looking forward to it," Hodgkinson told The Independent. "Championship racing is very different from the circuit. It'll probably be three rounds in three days, which is completely different. There'll be no pacing, times don't matter, it's all about championship racing and handling pressure.
“I know my training is in a really good place. I've always said I get a lot of my confidence from training because I know what I'm capable of.
"Championship racing is just a different mindset. On the circuit everyone's chasing times, but at championships it's a blank slate. I've gone in ranked number one and not won, and I've gone in ranked eighth and come away with a medal. That's what makes it exciting.”
After her triumph in the Diamond League, Hodgkinson reassured fans that her knees had fully healed - and that the incident had offered her a newfound perspective.
“They finally feel good. I took the tape off earlier this week, which is a positive," added Hodgkinson. "It was unfortunate timing, but there wasn't much I could do about it. I've just had to deal with it and get through it.
“It's probably given me a bit of perspective. Sometimes it's just about enjoying it, relaxing, and having fun. That's when I perform at my best. I just want to run freely and see what happens.”
