Keely Hodgkinson will race the women’s 400m at the UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham this weekend. The Olympic 800m champion is using the event to sharpen speed before later-season targets, and the field includes Amber Anning and Yemi Mary John.
The heats are set for 16:06 BST on Saturday, with the final at 16:06 BST on Sunday. Hodgkinson ran a personal best of 51.14 seconds over 400m earlier in June in Rome, finishing seventh, then improved her 800m British record to 1:54.33 in Stockholm three days later.
Hodgkinson, Anning and John
Her place in the 400m gives the race a different edge. Anning is the British 400m record holder, while John arrives as British indoor champion, and both will line up at Alexander Stadium against an athlete whose main title has come at 800m.
That switch is the part that changes the shape of the weekend. Hodgkinson broke the 800m indoor world record in February, yet she is now racing down at 400m while still preparing for European Championships competition later in the summer. The result will show whether the speed work is tracking cleanly against specialist one-lap runners.
Alexander Stadium selection race
The championships carry more than one prize. They also serve as a selection event for the European Athletics Championships at the same venue in August, so athletes need to win their event and achieve the European qualifying standard outlined in the team selection policy to secure a place.
That makes the 400m one of the weekend’s most useful tests. Hodgkinson is due to race Diamond League meetings in Eugene and London in July before the European Championships in Birmingham in August, so the next two days are part of a tighter run of competition rather than an isolated outing. How fast she runs this weekend will tell more than the placing alone.
Other titles on offer
Elsewhere, Georgia Hunter Bell is the favourite to win the women’s 800m in Hodgkinson’s absence after taking silver at last year’s World Championships. Dina Asher-Smith, Amy Hunt and Daryll Neita are set to meet in the women’s 100m and 200m sprints, while Zharnel Hughes, Jeremiah Azu, Romell Glave and Louie Hinchliffe line up in the men’s 100m.
Matthew Hudson-Smith and Charlie Dobson are in the men’s 400m, with Max Burgin, Ben Pattison and Jake Wightman contesting the men’s 800m title. Scott Lincoln is chasing an 11th consecutive men’s shot put win, Adele Nicholl is defending her women’s shot put title after returning to athletics following the Winter Olympics in Italy, and Melanie Woods meets Kare Adenegan in the women’s 400m wheelchair race while Jonnie Peacock races the men’s 100m ambulant event.
The weekend is live on the ’s digital platforms, but the sharper story sits in Birmingham: Hodgkinson’s move to the 400m is a test of speed, timing and range before the summer tightens around Eugene, London and August.
