Meet Keeley Hodgkinson, the Manchester Olympian who broke a world record

It’s official: Manchester can take world record credit.

Atherton-born athlete Keely Hodgkinson, who trains locally and has long been embedded in Manchester’s athletics scene has broken the 800m indoor world record.

On 19th February, the 23-year-old ran 1:54.87 in Lievin, France – almost a second quicker than the mark set by Slovenia’s Jolanda Ceplak on the very day Hodgkinson was born, 3rd March 2002.

It’s a full-circle moment for the Manchester runner, who began her journey competing around Greater Manchester and working with coaches based in the city.

Keely Hodgkinson joined Leigh Harriers aged nine, training at Leigh Sports Village during her early career. By 12, she had already won three Greater Manchester cross country titles and was dominating her track meets.

In 2018, she was named at the Believe Sports Awards in Wigan as Sports Achiever of the Year. And in recent years she has been regularly seen training at Robin Park in Wigan and at the Manchester Regional Arena.

She has quickly risen to the top, cementing her status as a Manchester sporting icon.

We absolutely love the new Keely Hodgkinson mural in Atherton 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/CI0ayo7tUX

— Team Pie (@TeamPie1) September 24, 2022

Her world record came months after hamstring injuries disrupted her previous season and forced her to withdraw from planned races.

Despite setbacks, she returned to competition and rebuilt her form during the 2025 season.

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Five days before the world record, she set a new British mark at the UK Indoor Championships in Birmingham.

Speaking before the race in Lievin, she said: “I feel like it is my record to break.”

Hodgkinson isn’t just repping Manchester on the track – she’s doing it in the stands, too.

A lifelong Manchester United F.C. fan, she grew up going to Old Trafford with her mum.

In anticipation of the 2024 Olympics, she said she’d “love to parade an Olympic gold medal around the stadium one day.”

That dream came true after she won gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Olympic gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson was presented to the crowd ahead of kick-off at Old Trafford, complete with her Paris 2024 medal. [Sky] #mufc pic.twitter.com/apLuiGr8Zj

— MOCO🇬🇧 (@MocoUTD) September 29, 2024

Battling back from injury setbacks, Hodgkinson has entered what her team call “Keely 2.0” – stronger, sharper, and now officially a world record holder.

Featured image via Instagram @keeley.hodgkinson