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No opponent has come close to knocking Keely Hodgkinson off her stride in 2026. But after breezing into the semi-finals of the world indoor championships, she revealed that her preparations had been interrupted by an airline, KLM, losing her kit for 48 hours on the flight to Poland.
It led to the overwhelming favourite for 800m gold having to train in whatever she could beg or borrow – and getting a blister as a result. Not that it seemed to bother her as she cruised into Saturday’s semi-finals with a dominant victory in 2min 0.32sec.
“It came last night, thank God,” said Hodgkinson. “I was starting to get annoyed. A very nice Polish girl let me borrow her spikes, and they gave me a blister. I just didn’t have any kit or my supplements. But it’s all good now.”
Hodgkinson believes she is in the shape of her life having kicked on again since breaking the world indoor 800m record last month. But she admitted she is not a big fan of having to race three times in three days in Torun.
“I just don’t like rounds,” she said. “I don’t like them at all. That was horrible, to be honest. When you’re so used to training at a certain rhythm you just have to make sure you get through the rounds, conserve energy and not fall over. All these things do go through your head.
“I’m very experienced at this now, but you’re exposed to anything. So I’m just glad that’s done. Tomorrow, we step it up again.”
Hodgkinson’s goal is clear: her first world title. “Obviously I want to get gold,” the 24-year-old said. “I won’t be happy with anything else. I’ve had a season so far that’s been amazing, let’s hope it continues.”
Hodgkinson also expressed her relief at being able to run at these world indoor championships after missing out three times through injury.
“In 2022 I got all the way here, didn’t end up starting because I tore my quads. In 2024, I had a knee injury that put me out over winter, so I missed Glasgow. And last year I tore my hamstring just before it started. So it’s been emotional.”
Britain’s Isabelle Boffey also made it through to the semi-finals as a fastest loser while the Swiss athlete Audrey Werro, who is Hodgkinson’s main rival here, laid down a marker winning her heat in 1:59.91. “For my birthday next week, the perfect present would be a gold medal,” Werro said.
In the men’s 800m, Britain’s 2023 world championship bronze medallist Ben Pattison looked strong in winning his heat, as did the 17-year-old American phenom Cooper Lutkenhaus, who eased into the semi-finals in second place.
The first gold of the championships was won by Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh in the high jump with a clearance of 2.01m. Unusually three women took silver after they all cleared 1.99m without any failures beforehand – Ukraine’s Yuliya Levchenko, Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers and the Serb Angelina Topic.
Mahuchikh, who competed wearing blue and yellow eye makeup, said she had done so to remind the global audience of Russia’s aggression. “I need to show the whole world that I’m from Ukraine and I protect my country on track,” she added. “We fight for Ukraine.”
