How far is Olympic medalist Keely Hodgkinson from the long-standing 40-year-old 800m world record? All about the new British record 

Keely Hodgkinson's personal best time in the 800m event was 1.33 seconds short of the world record. The Tokyo Olympic medalist recently showed her prowess at the 2024 London Meeting of the Diamond League.

She dominated the women's 800m event after clocking a stunning time of 1:54.61 to defeat Jemma Reekie and Georgia Bell, who posted times of 1:55.61 and 1:56.28, respectively. Her recent victory has etched her name in the annals of British athletics history as her winning time in London marked a new national record.

Hodgkinson's victory time fell narrowly short of touching the world record registered by Jarmila Kratochvilova on July 26, 1983, by posting 1:53.28 in Germany. The British middle-distance runner's victory time recorded at the London Olympic Stadium placed her in sixth position in the women's fastest 800m of all time.

After securing a silver medal in the 800m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Hodgkinson is poised to represent the nation for the second time at the Games along with Phoebe Gill and Jemma Reekie. Three years earlier, she defeated Raevyn Rogers (1:56.81) to settle in second place. They were dominated by Athing Mu, who posted 1:55.21.

"I want to attack every race" - Keely Hodgkinson shares what motivates her to earn feats

Keely Hodgkinson celebrates as she wins the silver medal in the Women's 800m Final at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Getty Images)

Keely Hodgkinson recently opened up on how she motivates herself to achieve great performances.

Before her recent feat in London, Hodgkinson secured a gold medal in the 800m at the 2024 European Athletics Championships, held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. She posted a spectacular time of 1:58.65 to leave behind Gabriela Gajanová (1:58.79) and Anaïs Bourgoin (1:59.30).

In a recent conversation with The Guardian, she spoke on what keeps her motivated, stating the importance of consistency and approaching all her races with the same intensity and determination.

“So how do I keep the motivation high? I want to attack every race, I don’t want to have 1:55 here and 1:58 the next week, I want to be as consistent as possible," Keely Hodgkinson said. "I’ll keep setting myself little targets in training, in championships all the time to see how much I can push myself," she added.

Round 1 of the women's 800m at the 2024 Paris Olympics is slated for August 2, 2024, at 19:45. The repechage round will be held on the following day at 11:10. The semi-final round is scheduled on August 4 at 20:35 with the final round on August 5 at 21:45. All the events are as per the local time.