Hodgkinson and Duplantis produced outstanding performances in Birmingham

British teenager produces the fastest indoor 800m for 20 years while pole vault world record-holder comes agonisingly close to reaching new heights at Müller Indoor Grand Prix

Keely Hodgkinson produced a real statement of intent as she brought the house down with another memorable 800m performance at an entertaining and boisterous Müller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham on Saturday (February 19).

In the final track event of the day, the Olympic silver medallist was roared on by a full house at the Utilita Arena as she began her competitive year with a hugely impressive victory over a quality field in 1:57.20 – not only a British indoor record but also the fastest indoor 800m performance by a woman in 20 years.The 19-year-old will leave her teens behind next month and it so happens that the day she was born – March 3, 2002 – was when the current women’s 800m indoor world record of 1:55.82 was set by Jolanda Čeplak.

While that mark wasn’t expected to come under threat this weekend, for Hodgkinson to have produced the quickest time since that performance from the Slovenian two decades ago speaks volumes.

Her margin of victory was over two seconds, with Australian Catriona Bisset also clocking a national record (1:59.46) while Jamaican Natoye Goule, who had been the world leader going into this event, ran 1:59.85.

“I wrote down the aims for this year and one of them was a British indoor record,” grinned Hodgkinson, now sixth on the all-time indoor lists.“I was 100 per cent in shape for this record and I just wanted to go for it and there were some good girls in that race. I’ve never run in front of a British crowd this big and it was such a comfortable environment.”Another athlete who appears supremely comfortable in the spotlight is Mondo Duplantis and, moments after the dust had settled from Hodgkinson’s run, he was targeting a pole vault world record in the last action of the programme.

Having cleared a world-leading stadium record of 6.05m at the final attempt, the Olympic and European champion immediately set the bar at 6.19m as he looked to surpass the 6.18m he cleared at this meeting in Glasgow two years ago.

His opening two attempts failed but, when it came to the third, for a moment it looked as if he had created history again. The jubilant spectators began to get to their feet in celebration but, just as they did, the bar wobbled and fell. The world record will have to wait – but surely it won’t be long.

“I’ve got mixed emotions,” said Duplantis. “6.05m is a good jump and result but I really wanted that 6.19m. I have expectations of myself and I know there are good conditions indoors so I can break the world record, I want it so badly.

“I appreciated that everyone who stayed and it’s a cool feeling where the attention is just on you.”

posted Sunday February 20th