Keely Hodgkinson is targeting her first world gold medal at the world indoor championships in Poland.
After a GPS fault caused the British team to arrive late at their hotel in Torun, Hodgkinson is focused on her target. The championships begin on Friday morning.
“I’m looking forward to it and this last month has been great,” she says. “I couldn’t ask to be in a better position to be honest.”
Hodgkinson Returns to Scene of Early Triumph
Hodgkinson won the European indoor championships in Torun five years ago. She is determined to recapture the spirit of 2021. “The track looks a little bit different than it did,” she says.
“But I’m embracing my 19-year-old fearless, doesn’t think too much, just turns up kind of attitude and it’s working for me.”
Injuries Fuel Determination
Hodgkinson is seeking a world indoor championship medal, having missed the event in 2022, 2024 and 2025 through injury. She sustained three different hamstring and back injuries following her Olympic gold in 2024.
“It’s difficult for any athlete when you just want to compete,” she says. “You do all this training to get out there. And every time I tried, I was just put back to the sidelines, start again, rehab. Months of it and months of it.
“Definitely was draining on the mind and a lot of frustrations. But now I look back, I wouldn’t change any of it. I think it was a pivotal moment for me. I learned a lot about myself. I had time off the track to just enjoy my life and just have some chill time. And I think it’s made me a better athlete. It made competing for me that much more fun and exciting.”
Competition and Key Races
Hodgkinson’s main rival for gold is the 21-year-old Swiss athlete Audrey Werro. Werro’s season’s best of 1min 57.27sec is nearly two and a half seconds behind Hodgkinson’s world record of 1:54.87. Hodgkinson set the record in Liévin in February.
Hodgkinson may be challenged by having to run three races in three days.
The men’s 3,000m is expected to be a highlight. Josh Kerr aims to regain the title he won in Glasgow in 2024. He faces Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse.
Britain also has other medal hopes, including Josh Kerr and Georgia Hunter Bell.
The world indoor championships features nine individual Olympic champions and 11 gold medallists from last year’s world championships in Tokyo.