Keely Hodgkinson recent fall has not slowed her schedule. The Olympic 800m champion will headline the 800m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, on July 4 after running 1:54.33 in Stockholm.
She has asked for the wavelights to be set at 1:53.50, with a 400m split of 55.50. That is a clear step inside her British record of 1:54.61 and points to a race run at far sharper pace than the one she posted in Stockholm.
Stockholm and Hodgkinson
Audrey Werro beat Hodgkinson at the Stockholm Diamond League at the beginning of last month, running 1:53.98 to Hodgkinson's 1:54.33. Werro then moved on again, clocking 1:53.80 to win in Paris. Those are the two faster marks in this run of races, and they set the standard Hodgkinson is now trying to answer.
Hodgkinson still improved her British record in Stockholm, but the margin to the front of the current list has narrowed. The requested 1:53.50 pace is the next marker she is chasing, and it would take a cleaner, faster first lap than the one she used in Sweden's capital.
At Hayward Field
At Hayward Field, Hodgkinson will face Lilian Odira, Anaïs Bourgoin and Sanu Jallow-Lockhart. That field gives her a direct test before the European Athletics Championships, with two 800m attempts left before that championship window.
One of those chances comes at the London Diamond League on July 18. The sequence is simple: Stockholm showed she can still lower her British record, but Werro's recent times mean the next step has to be quicker if Hodgkinson is going to turn a headline race into a statement.
Prefontaine Classic in Eugene
The Prefontaine Classic in Eugene now becomes the sharpest checkpoint. Hodgkinson arrives with a record still moving in the right direction, a pace plan already set, and a field that can force the issue from the opening lap.
Can Hodgkinson actually run close to 1:53.50 on July 4? That answer will come on the track, not in the build-up.
