Keely Hodgkinson obliterates her OWN British record to win 800m at Diamond League meeting - as she eyes gold medal at Paris Olympics

Her fingernails were painted gold and, from what we witnessed on Saturday, surely the medal in Paris will be the same shade.

Keely Hodgkinson was already the favourite to win the 800 metres at the Olympics. But given the way she obliterated her own British record here at the London Stadium, it now looks one of the safest bets of the Games.

The 22-year-old’s time of 1min 54.61sec to win the London Athletics Meet on Saturday knocked more than half a second off her previous best set last September. It was the fastest 800m by any woman since double Olympic champion Caster Semanya in 2018 – and put her sixth on the all-time list.

Suddenly, even the world record of 1:53.28 set by Czech runner Jarmila Kratochvilova 41 years ago now looks within Hodgkinson’s reach, a statement which would have sounded outlandish not so long ago.

‘Do I think it’s beatable? Now, I would say yes,’ admitted the bullish Brit. ‘It would take a very special race, but hopefully I will have a long time to try. So yeah, I think it's definitely possible. We’re getting closer.’

Hodgkinson always knew she was capable of producing something special on her debut race at the London Stadium, which is famous for its fast track. But what a performance this was in front of a full house of 60,000 home fans, who were treated to a British one-two-three, with Jemma Reekie and Georgia Bell completing the podium places with personal bests of their own.

‘I have been waiting for a big opportunity to put my foot down and put out a really fast time – and there is no better place than London,’ said Hodgkinson following her last race before the Olympics.

She will now get the Eurostar to Paris knowing many have already hung the gold medal round her neck, especially with defending Olympic champion Athing Mu not competing. However, after three successive global silvers – in Tokyo and then at the last two World Championships – Hodgkinson is taking nothing for granted.

‘A championships is a completely clean slate for me,’ she added. ‘I’ve come into championships ranked 10th and finished second. I was world No1 last year and finished second.

‘Times aren’t everything, so for me it’s get to the final and then we’ll start thinking about medals. But obviously you know what I want.

‘I have found my proper determination this year. I remember coming off the track at last year’s Worlds and was like, “I'm not coming second, again!”. So I really just want to put myself in every position that I can for that gold medal. The nails go with the theme.’

Another Brit looking good for gold is Matthew Hudson-Smith. Like Hodgkinson, he smashed his personal best at the London Stadium on Saturday with a new European record and world-leading time in the 400m of 43.74sec – his first sub-44 run.

‘That’s exactly what I was aiming for - to get the world lead in time for Paris,’ said Hudson-Smith, who has claimed silver and bronze at the last two World Championships.

‘I wrote 43.70 on a piece of paper before I left. I knew at 370m I had it in the bag so I eased down and thought about getting ready for Paris, so I’ve got plenty more.

‘I’m in good shape. This meet last year I got taken off in a wheelchair with my Achilles. What a difference a year makes.’

In a lightning-fast men’s 100m, world champion Noah Lyles wowed the London crowd with a new personal best of 9.81sec. New British star Louie Hinchliffe was fourth in 9.97sec on his Diamond League debut, beating national record holder Zharnel Hughes, who was sixth in 10sec on his comeback from injury.

Yet Hinchliffe, who is coached by Olympic legend Carl Lewis, said: ‘I’m a bit upset about that. I wanted to come here and win. You can't be too happy finishing fourth. I can definitely go faster in Paris.’

Dina Asher-Smith was third in the women’s 200m with a season’s best of 22.07sec, as American Gabby Thomas won in 21.82sec. But there was disappointment for rising British star Molly Caudery, the leading pole vaulter in the world this year, who only jumped 4.65 metres to finish third.