Keely Hodgkinson (Image: PA)
ATHERTON'S Keely Hodgkinson has broken the world indoor 600m record in her first race of the 2023 season.
The 20-year-old clocked a time of 1:23.41 at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Bronze meeting in Manchester on Saturday.
Hodgkinson shaved 0.03 seconds off the previous world record of 1:23.44 set by Olga Kotlyarova in 2004.
She will hope to use this performance to launch into another big year indoor and outdoor.
In 2022, she won 800m silver at the World Championships before winning gold at the Europeans.
Hodgkinson will defend the European indoor title she won in 2021, at the Championships in Istanbul in March - where she will turn 21.
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