Keely Hodgkinson Among Runners Challenging Long-Standing 800m World Record

What Happened

British runner Keely Hodgkinson is among the leading athletes nearing the women's 800m world record, which has stood for 43 years. Recent performances indicate a rising level of competition in the event, with several athletes achieving times close to the historic mark.

Why It Matters

The 800m world record, set by Jarmila Kratochvilova in 1983 with a time of 1 minute 53.28 seconds, is the longest-standing record in athletics. Despite significant advancements in sports science, including shoe technology, nutrition, and recovery, the record has proven exceptionally difficult to break. Modern athletes are achieving unprecedented speeds, with some coming within half a second of the nearly four-decade-old mark.

Background

Concerns have been raised about the validity of some older records. Jarmila Kratochvilova's 1983 performance has faced allegations of being aided by a systematic doping program in her country at the time, claims she has denied. Similarly, Marita Koch's 1985 women's 400m record from East Germany has been questioned due to the country's known doping practices. In 2017, European Athletics considered proposals to invalidate records set before 2005, the year World Athletics began consistently storing doping samples, but these proposals did not advance. Kratochvilova's record was set by a significant margin, with her closest competitor finishing over seven seconds behind.

Key Facts

• The women's 800m world record is 1 minute 53.28 seconds, set by Jarmila Kratochvilova in 1983.
• Keely Hodgkinson holds the sixth-fastest outdoor 800m time in history.
• Audrey Werro's time of 1:53.80 is the closest any athlete has come to Kratochvilova's record.
• Hodgkinson set a new indoor 800m record in February with a time of 1:54.87.
• Femke Broeders-Bol ran a time of 1:55.60 in the 800m at the Paris Diamond League event in June.
• Innovations in sports science, such as improved shoe technology, supplements like creatine and bicarbonate, and better understanding of carbohydrate fueling, are contributing to faster times.