Keely Hodgkinson begins an outdoor season in which she will seek to break the long-standing women’s 800m world record by testing her speed over 400m at the Rome Diamond League on Thursday, which is live on the BBC.
Britain’s Olympic 800m champion has made clear her intention to topple Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 43-year mark this summer, ideally on home soil at the London Diamond League event in July, after smashing the world indoor record in March.
Before then, the 24-year-old starts her racing preparations in Rome, where she will line up with a 400m personal best almost one second slower than any of her rivals.
The decision to “throw myself in at the deep end”, she says, is to demonstrate her one-lap potential following a speed-focused training block – something which injuries have prevented her from doing prior to her past two outdoor seasons.
“Hopefully bringing down that 400m time is going to make that first lap of the 800m feel nice,” Hodgkinson said.
“I think it will give me some confidence. If anyone is like ‘Keely has got no speed’, I’ll be like ‘yes I do, thank you’.
“The 400m for me is a bit of fun, something different. The line up in Rome is crazy but I think it’s good to put myself in a position where, on paper, I’m going in as the slowest. I’m looking forward to challenging myself.”