Keely Hodgkinson: Jarmila Kratochvílova’s 800m world record will soon be beaten

Keely Hodgkinson has expressed full confidence that one of the oldest world records in athletics – the women’s 800m – will be broken soon.

The 23-year-old British athlete, who is an Olympic champion in the event, is preparing in Tokyo for the world championships starting in a few days. According to her, the Czech Jarmila Kratochvílova’s achievement of 1:53.28 min, which has been intact for 42 years, will not fall in the Japanese capital, but the time when this will happen is not far off.

“We know that the record is very close, but it cannot be broken every day. It is not every day that you can run at world level. I felt last year that it was close and I still feel that way now. We just have to keep building on it a little bit more”< said Keely Hodgkinson. "I'm still very young and I hope that in the coming years I will get better and better. At some point I am sure that I will be able to improve this world record. I am 100 percent convinced. The question is how, when and where it will happen. I don't think the world championships are the best place for that. However, I think the final will be very fast. But I don't think anyone else, other than me, has the strength to improve this record", said the young British athlete with confidence. Last month, Keely Hodgkinson, who took silver medals at the last two world championships, recorded a result of 1:54.74 min at the Diamond League in Silesia, which is also the best result in the world this season.