Running News Daily

British middle-distance running has a proud Olympic legacy, but only three women from Great Britain have ever climbed to the top of the Olympic podium in the women’s 800 metres: Ann Packer, Kelly Holmes and Keely Hodgkinson. Each achieved the milestone in a different era, creating a remarkable connection between generations of British athletics.

Packer made history at the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games, becoming the first British woman to win Olympic gold in the 800m. Her triumph on October 20, 1964, remains one of the defining moments in the history of British women’s middle-distance running.

The British athlete delivered a memorable performance in Tokyo, winning in a world-record time of 2:01.01. Her victory was particularly significant because the women’s 800m had a complicated Olympic history. The event was first contested at the 1928 Amsterdam Games but was subsequently removed from the programme before returning at Rome 1960. Packer’s achievement four years later helped establish her place among the pioneers of British Olympic athletics.

Nearly four decades after Packer’s breakthrough, Kelly Holmes carried the tradition forward at the Athens 2004 Olympics. Holmes produced an outstanding performance to win the women’s 800m in 1:56.38, adding Olympic gold to her growing collection of international honours. Her victory came during a remarkable championship in which she also won the 1500m, completing a historic middle-distance double.

Holmes became one of Britain’s most celebrated track athletes, demonstrating the combination of endurance, tactical intelligence and finishing speed required to succeed at the highest level. Her double-gold achievement in Athens placed her among the defining figures of British Olympic sport.

At Paris 2024, Keely Hodgkinson became the third British woman to win Olympic 800m gold. The reigning middle-distance star delivered a composed and powerful race, crossing the finish line in 1:56.72 to secure the title and fulfil a long-held Olympic ambition.

Hodgkinson’s victory continued a legacy that had begun 60 years earlier with Packer in Tokyo. While the three champions competed in different eras and faced different generations of rivals, they share the distinction of having won the most prestigious prize in Olympic middle-distance running for Great Britain.

From Packer’s world-record breakthrough in 1964, through Holmes’s golden double in 2004, to Hodgkinson’s triumph in 2024, the story of British women’s Olympic 800m champions is one of extraordinary performances and lasting inspiration.

Three athletes. Three Olympic generations. One historic distinction: Olympic 800m gold for Great Britain.

Georgia Hunter Bell’s remarkable rise in middle-distance running has been built on far more than physical strength and natural speed. Behind every perfectly timed move, every decisive surge and every devastating finishing kick is a sharp, composed and increasingly confident racing mind.

Now, after producing one of the most successful seasons of her career, the British middle-distance star is preparing for another major challenge. Hunter Bell heads to Budapest with the opportunity to complete a remarkable four-from-four sweep of major titles in 2026, having already collected three prestigious gold medals across two disciplines.

Her extraordinary campaign began with global success in the 1500 metres, where she claimed the World Indoor title. She then demonstrated her exceptional versatility by stepping down to the 800 metres to secure Commonwealth Games gold before returning to the 1500m and triumphing at the European Athletics Championships.

Winning major titles in both the 800m and 1500m underlines the extraordinary range Hunter Bell has developed. The two events demand different qualities: the 800m requires raw speed, strength and endurance, while the 1500m demands patience, tactical awareness and the ability to make the right decisions when the race reaches its decisive moments.

Hunter Bell has shown that she possesses the qualities needed for both.

One of the most impressive aspects of her racing is her ability to remain composed when the pressure intensifies. While championship races can become unpredictable and chaotic, Hunter Bell has developed a reputation for staying patient, reading the situation around her and positioning herself for a powerful finish.

Her finishing speed has become one of the defining weapons of her success. When the pace begins to rise and rivals start fighting for position, Hunter Bell has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to find another gear. Her strength over the closing stages allows her to transform patience into attack, making her an increasingly difficult athlete to beat in a tactical race.

But her performances are not simply the product of physical preparation.

Behind the medals and the powerful finishing kicks is an athlete who thinks deeply about the races she is about to run. Hunter Bell and her team carefully consider different race scenarios ahead of major championships, preparing for the possibility of fast races, slow tactical contests and everything in between. That preparation has helped her arrive on the start line with the confidence to react rather than panic.

It is this combination of intelligence and instinct that makes her such a compelling championship athlete.

Looking beyond Budapest, Hunter Bell’s ambitions are becoming even more exciting. One of the biggest questions surrounding her future is whether she could eventually attempt the demanding 800m and 1500m double at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

It is one of the most difficult challenges in middle-distance running, particularly in an era filled with extraordinary depth in both events. Yet Hunter Bell has already begun seeking advice from one of Britain's greatest middle-distance champions, Dame Kelly Holmes, whose historic Olympic double remains one of the defining achievements in British athletics.

The possibility of following a similar path is undoubtedly ambitious, but Hunter Bell's 2026 season has shown why the conversation is becoming increasingly realistic. Her success across both distances has demonstrated that she possesses a rare combination of speed, endurance and championship intelligence.

Her journey to this point has also made her rise even more remarkable.

Hunter Bell’s path back to the highest level of athletics was far from conventional. After stepping away from elite competition and building a career outside the sport, she eventually returned to running and began an extraordinary transformation into one of Britain's leading middle-distance athletes.

Now, she stands at the centre of one of the most impressive seasons in international athletics.

With three major titles already secured, Budapest offers Hunter Bell the chance to add another golden chapter to her extraordinary year. Victory there would complete a remarkable clean sweep and further establish her as one of the most versatile and tactically intelligent middle-distance runners in the world.

For Hunter Bell, however, the story is clearly still being written.

Budapest is the next target, but Los Angeles is already on the horizon. And as her ambitions continue to grow, so too does the belief that her best years may still lie ahead.

Georgia Hunter Bell has the speed to win, the endurance to compete across two demanding distances and the finishing kick to punish any hesitation from her rivals. But perhaps her greatest advantage is the one that cannot be measured on a stopwatch: the calm, intelligent and competitive mind behind the athlete.

That mind has already helped shape a golden 2026 season. The question now is just how far it can take her.

Speaking during Pride month, the two-time gold medallist said she realised she was gay at the age of 17 after kissing a fellow female soldier, and that her family and friends have known since 1997.

The Olympic champion told the Sunday Mirror: "I needed to do this now, for me. It was my decision. I'm nervous about saying it. I feel like I'm going to explode with excitement.

"Sometimes I cry with relief. The moment this comes out, I'm essentially getting rid of that fear."

The 52-year-old also revealed she struggled with her mental health because of having to hide her sexuality, and that she had to keep several same-sex relationships she had during her time in the Women's Royal Army Corps secret, for fear of being courts marshalled.

Until 2000, it was illegal for gay, lesbian and bisexual people to serve in the British Army, Royal Navy and RAF - and Dame Kelly feared she would still face repercussions for breaking that law during her time in the forces.

She contacted a military LGBTQ+ leader in 2020 to find out if she could be sanctioned for breaking army rules and was told she would not be.

She said: "I felt like I could breathe again, one little call could have saved 28 years of heartache."

(Second photo) Crossing the finish line to win the gold medal in the women's 800m at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She also won the 1500m. 

Dame Kelly took part in her final major championship in 2004, with a double gold medal-winning performance at the Athens Olympics.

In 2005 - the year she retired from athletics - she was made a Dame by the Queen.

She has since been made an honorary colonel with the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment.

Dame Kelly set up a charity in 2008, created to support retired athletes to transition out of their sport, and to create mentoring programmes to inspire young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into sports.

Social media has been flooded with support for the Olympic champion.

She has also started to make a documentary about her experiences called Being Me, where she talks to LGBTQ+ soldiers about their lives in the military now.

The 19-year-old, who broke Kelly Holmes' British 800m record at last summer's Tokyo Olympics, was part of a 33-strong squad announced on Tuesday.

British 400m champion Jessie Knight and Ama Pipi join Hodgkinson in the relay squad.

The World Indoors take place in Belgrade, Serbia, from 18-20 March.

Several athletes confirmed their places in the GB team at the UK Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham last weekend.

They included Andrew Pozzi, the 2018 world indoor champion, in the 60m hurdles, in-form Elliot Giles in the 800m and 2016 world indoor medalist Lorraine Ugen in the long jump.

Ed Faulds and Marc Scott, who have broken European indoor records this season, are also included in the team.

Olympic head coach Christian Malcolm said: "Those called up have earned their vest and I know they'll all represent their country with pride in Belgrade.

"We have a number of athletes who have really stepped up during this indoor season, setting a number of personal and season best, so it'll be exciting to see how they translate that into the Championship environment."

Olympic silver medalist Keely Hodgkinson (coach: Trevor Painter, club: Leigh) will take on the world at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham on Saturday February 19, 2022.

The British 800m record holder is the first leading athlete to announce their intention to compete at the event, which returns to the Utilita Arena Birmingham in the new year.

Star-studded fields are set to align for the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold event, one of seven marquee indoor events across the globe, with Hodgkinson to the fore.

With tickets now on general sale, you can secure your seat to watch Hodgkinson in the second city.

“I’m so excited to be running at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham,” said the 19-year-old. “It’s going to be one of my big races of the season and I can’t wait to be back in front of a home crowd.

“I had a great indoor season in 2021 and that set me up perfectly for the outdoors and the Olympic Games.

“Competing at home with a big crowd in Birmingham, will hopefully set me up for the same in 2022 with some massive major Championships on the horizon.”

Hodgkinson made her big breakthrough in the 2021 indoor season. She smashed the world under-20 indoor 800m record in Vienna last January with a clocking of 1:59.03 seconds.

The Leigh Harrier then won 800m gold at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun, becoming the youngest British winner of a European indoor title for more than 50 years.

Hodgkinson’s feats in the 2021 outdoor season need no introduction as she claimed a landmark second national title at the Müller British Athletics Championships. She then took Tokyo by storm, smashing Dame Kelly Holmes’s national record with 1:55.88 to win Olympic silver on her Games debut.

The Müller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham was last staged in 2019, when Hodgkinson’s fellow Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir broke the 31-year-old British mile record. Women’s middle-distance running took centre stage with Britain’s Shelayna Oskan-Clarke, who went on to win European indoor gold that season, taking 800m victory with 2:01.16.

Ethiopia’s Samuel Tefera broke the men’s 1500m world record two years ago and hopes will be high once again for fast times and packed crowds in Birmingham.

Tickets are on sale NOW.

Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson has set her sights on upgrading her 800m silver in 2021 to gold at the next Olympics in Paris in three years' time.

The 19-year-old broke Kelly Holmes' British record en route to claiming second place in the 800m in Tokyo.

"I want to turn this into a gold one day, that's the long-term goal in Paris," she told BBC Breakfast.

"I'm just going to carry on doing what I am doing because that is what has got me here."

Hodgkinson began 2021 aiming to add a European junior gold to the youth title she won in 2018, however a first sub-two minute time in January followed by European indoor gold and an impressive victory in Ostrava made her re-evaluate her plans.

In June, she surged past Laura Muir and Jemma Reekie to defend the national title she won against a weaker field 12 months earlier and book her place on the plane to Tokyo.

"I didn't really think about the enormity of it," said Hodgkinson of her Olympic final.

"I was most relaxed in the final because you have made it there, it is more the heats and the semi-finals where you get nervous.

"I just wanted to enjoy it because that is the biggest stage I have been on."

Hodgkinson was beaten to gold by another 19-year-old - Athing Mu of the USA - and their rivalry seems likely to be witnessed for years to come.

"Athing is a lovely girl and a great athlete," added Hodgkinson on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"To have two 19-year-olds on the podium was quite something I think, it bodes for a very bright future.

"We all get on really well, they are lovely girls and we have the utmost respect for each other. I think we are just going to push each other on throughout the years."

Laura Muir broke the Scottish record in the 800m at the Diamond League meet in Monaco on Friday night, just a day after announcing her plan to solely focus on the 1500m at the Tokyo Olympics.

Muir gave up her spot in the 800m British Olympic group on Thursday in order to concentrate on success in the 1500m, a distance over which she is the current British record holder and sealed European glory back in 2018.

The 28-year-old finished seventh in the 1500m at the last Olympics in Rio five years ago and has reached each of the last three World Championship finals, finishing fourth in London in 2017.

Muir finished third behind Keely Hodgkinson and Jemma Reekie in the 800m at the British Championships last month and subsequently abandoned plans to double up in Tokyo, avoiding a potential schedule of six races in the span of just eight days.

However, Muir then set a new Scottish record in the 800m in Monaco on Friday night, with her time of one minute and 56.73 seconds surpassing Lynsey Sharp’s mark from Rio 2016.

Indeed, Dame Kelly Holmes is now the only British woman to have run the 800m quicker, with her 1995 time of 1:56.21 still the fastest.

While Muir is now second on that list, training partner Reekie is third after running a 1:56.96 on a memorable night in Monaco.

Muir was quoted on scottishathletics.org.uk as saying: “This was my last race before Tokyo, so I just wanted to give it my best and put on paper the sort of shape that I know I am in and I am just so happy with that.

“Having a training partner like Jemma is huge, Jemma has made me a much faster 800m runner. We push each other so much and we’ve both run 1:56, so I have definitely become faster because of her.

“I am going to go home tomorrow, have a week at home before flying out to Tokyo and just train as hard as I can, so I am in even better shape in Tokyo. I want to win a medal, that is all I am focusing on.”

Double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes says she has tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from holiday in Cyprus.

Holmes, who won 800m and 1500m gold at the 2004 Athens Games, detailed her symptoms in an Instagram post and said she has been left drained by the virus.

"Smiles one day, the next day Covid," said Holmes, 50, on social media.

She added she has "officially been corona(ed)" and has "never laid down so long".

Holmes, who returned from holiday on 20 October, has been updating the post with how her symptoms have progressed each day.

"Day 1 - sore throat, bad headaches," she said.

"Day 2 - above + aching body, tight chest.

"Day 3 - above worse + test.

"Day 4 - bad headaches, lost smell.

"Day 5 - above, positive result plus loss of taste.

"Day 6 - drained, tight chest, headaches. Really dizzy.

"Day 7 - headaches, dizzy, tired, slight cough, still no taste or smell."

She added that "you know you have coronavirus when toothpaste, stilton cheese, peanut butter and Marmite all taste the same - like nothing".