Kelly Hodgkinson is “closer than ever” to breaking the world’s longest athletics record

Hodgkinson’s stunning indoor race in France saw her cross the goal line in a time of 1:54.87 minutes to break the world record that had stood since March 3, 2002, the day the Briton was born.

Her coach, Jenny Meadows, told BBC Sport that her time in Levin could have been up to one second faster, and Hodgkinson is still aiming higher than that.

“I’ve known for weeks that I can break this barrier. It’s just a matter of getting out there for the day,” she said.

He added: “We can push it further in the future, as long as I stay healthy and I think this is just the beginning.”

The win came after a difficult year for the 23-year-old, who stormed to Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Games.

Hodgkinson was left unable to train after tearing her hamstring just a few months after that victory, and she has been working her way back ever since.

“After I won the Olympics, it wasn’t what I thought it would happen,” she said.

“It makes you stop and take everything apart and think, ‘Why is this happening? What are the problems?’

“But we got through that, and I became a stronger person, and I think this is now the reward for everything that happened.”