Vienna (Austria), Jan 31 (IANS): European U18 champion Keely Hodgkinson smashed the world U20 indoor 800m record with a timing of 1:59.03 at the Indoor Track & Field Vienna meeting.
On Saturday, Hodgkinson held back slightly from the swift opening pace and was in fourth place as the pacemaker led the field through half way in 57.56. She then moved into the lead with 300 metres to go. By the time the bell sounded, and with 1:28.83 on the clock, Hodgkinson had built up a comfortable lead, as per the World Athletics website.
The 18-year-old Briton continued to pull away from the field and charged through the line in 1:59.03, thus breaking the previous mark by two seconds set by Ethiopia's Meskerem Legesse in 2004.
"The race was perfect," said Hodgkinson. "I've never gone through the bell that quickly before, but I tried not to panic. It couldn't have gone better, I'm really happy," she added.
Hodgkinson had competed at this meeting in 2020 and broke the European indoor U20 record with a timing of 2:01.16.