Hodgkinson eyes 'world domination' in pursuit of 800m world record
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Lying horizontal in absolute agony, puffing heavily trying to get as much oxygen back into her lungs, Keely Hodgkinson is hurting. She's just completed a set of 400m training runs on the outdoor track at the Mancheste
Lying horizontal in absolute agony, puffing heavily trying to get as much oxygen back into her lungs, Keely Hodgkinson is hurting.
She's just completed a set of 400m training runs on the outdoor track at the Manchester Regional Arena right next door to Manchester City's stadium. There is still some light blue ticker tape catching on the breeze left over from City's send off to Pep Guardiola.
Hodgkinson doesn't notice or care. Full on, flat out, pushing her body beyond limits mere mortals could tolerate.
Her coaches - husband and wife team Jenny Meadows and Trevor Painter - have spent about 30 seconds checking their stopwatches and they've just looked at one another. Surprise, astonishment, pride and huge smiles at what has just happened at one of Hodgkinson's final training sessions before her outdoor season begins tonight (June 4) in Rome… she's just smashed her personal best (PB) time in training for 400m split times.
This is one of the major milestones Hodgkinson and her coaches wanted to see in a training run in her assault to beat the oldest world record in athletics, the women's 800m, which was set in 1983 by Czechoslovakia's Jarmila Kratochvilova - it stands at an intimidating 1:53:28.
To beat a 43-year-old record Hodgkinson needs to have the pace over the first 400m to realistically challenge that time, that's why these final training sessions in Manchester with the M11 coaching group run by Painter and Meadows are so crucial. Hodgkinson has what is regarded as a beautiful running style and on top of that she comes with grit, determination and sheer will to win, but even that is not always enough.
To break the world record and, in her words, achieve "world domination" she has to be fast over the first 400m of the 800m, but it has be controlled.
You can't just sprint it and go all out, control is key so it must come with natural speed that has been worked on time and time again during the hard winter months of training, as well as right now as she finalises her preparations for the outdoor season.
