When it comes to the track, ignorance most definitely isn’t bliss. Especially this week. The world of athletics was shaken so hard that even if you’d been living under a rock these past 7 days, your cover was most likely blown. And if it wasn’t, well, no need to worry because this weekly run through’s for you. You and everyone else looking to relive (or maybe just live- excitement can be blinding) every single detail. And the good thing is, when the history books get torn to shreds, it’s easy to know where to start. Right there, where it all happened. 

1. Keely Hodgkinson- 47 years later, Britain takes back the women’s 800m indoor world record

The 800m world indoor record had been living on borrowed time from the very beginning. Indebted to the bank that is Keely Hodgkinson’s life, the only reason it survived so long is that however surprising it may be, she wasn’t running 800s fresh out of the womb. Not that it took her long though, because almost exactly 24 years later, Keely Hodgkinson sent it crashing down. Its credit, and its lifeline, have officially run out. Her and the world record may have shared a birthday, but the likeness ends there. Because in Liévin on Thursday night, Keely Hodgkinson proved she operates on a whole other level.

A race like no other (literally)

For a race set up to be a time trial, and a world record one at that, this was a very stacked field. One of those names in particular was Audrey Werro, former world leader and 8th fastest all-time indoors with a 1:57.27 clocking. When you look back at Josh Hoey’s 800m indoor world record, he had nothing of the sort to contend with. Audrey Werro wasn’t willing to make things easy for Keely either. And fighting for the top spot behind the pacemaker is not something she’d have wanted to be doing.

That spot was ceded, but it came at the price of a very fast 56.01 opening 2 laps. Not ideal for Keely Hodgkinson, who was pushed further than she maybe would have liked. Nor was it ideal for Audrey Werro either, who, just like with her world lead, also saw her chance at a fast time in Liévin snatched away by Keely Hodgkinson. Setting out at world record pace is no joke. While a brave effort from Werro, to see her struggle and end up closing with an over 60 second 400m proves even further just how impressive Keely Hodgkinson’s run was.

This was only the beginning

Because while Keely Hodgkinson’s second 400m was a fair bit slower at almost 59 seconds, she not only stayed on her initial track, but carved an entirely knew one. Crossing the line in 1:54.87, she knocked almost a second off Jolanda Ceplak’s previous world record of 1:55.82. And that time, is just 0.13 seconds slower than her 2026 season’s best. Outdoors. If less than desirable pacing can still lead to world record obliteration, somehow it feels like the idea of a 1:53 outdoors is no longer floating around somewhere. It’s a reality right there in front of us.

800m world records are seen as some of the hardest to break. This year, both the male and female indoor records met their end. One was 29, the other 23. Fate may have brought Keely Hodgkinson to that start line in Liévin, but it was generational talent that sent her across it.

2. Jessica Hull- record attempt, or record-breaking race?

It feels slightly ironic that not only did the two world record attempts initially slated to take place in Liévin not pull through, but that we got an entirely different one instead. One that only came into fruition last weekend when Keely Hodgkinson burst back onto the scene with a time that made it seem almost inevitable. Femke Bol had to withdraw from the 600m due to a tendon injury, and while Jessica Hull did make it to the 2000m start line, the aggressive pacing proved to be just too much.

But the good thing about when you attempt a world record, is that a lot of the time, a near-miss is a direct hit of something else entirely. And in Jessica Hull’s case, that hit was a new area record and 2nd fastest clocking of all-time, behind of course, the Genzebe Dibaba record she was chasing. For most of the race Jessica Hull looked comfortable, on par with the wave lights even once the pacemaker stepped off the track. But it was at 1500m when the effects of such an all-out effort started to kick in. By the time she entered the last 200m, it was no longer a question of if she would break the world record, but of how close she could get.

Take away ‘world’ and you still get record

And the answer was 3 seconds. Or, in other words, the closest anyone has ever got in almost 20 years. Jessica Hull, with her time of 5:26.68, became only the second woman ever to break 5:30, leaving the rest of the field 4 seconds behind. A field which also made history itself. Revée Walcott Nolan set a new British indoor 2000m record, and 4 other participants also ended up in the top 10 all-time.

So maybe there is something to be said about announcing world record attempts. After all, just a few weeks ago we had Mohamed Attaoui’s much anticipated 1000m race in Madrid, where he fell achingly short of the world record but in the process earned a completely different success. Actions do speak louder than words, but only if we let them. And the words ‘world record’ are some of the most deafening you can get.

3. Look out for Gout Gout

No place screams young talent quite like Oceania is right now. 16 year old Sam Ruthe of New Zealand, world u18 mile record holder, 19 year old Cam Myers of Australia, world u20 mile record holder, and now let me add, or rather remind you of, another name on that list. 18 year old Australian Gout Gout. As a 100/200m specialist, in terms of distance he may come up short in comparison. But let me assure you, the talent is just as equally there.

2025 was the year Gout Gout firmly cemented himself as a 200m great, running a crazy (but wind illegal) 19.84 before going on to set an u20 area record of 20.02. And it looks like 2026 might be the year of the 100m. Racing this Saturday in Australia, Gout Gout clocked 10.00 exactly. The fastest ever run on Australian soil and the fastest ever run by any U20 male from Oceania. Season opened, 100/200m area record double completed. Just like that. As if knocking an entire 0.38 off his previous 100m personal best was no effort at all.

What some athletes work all season towards, these young Oceanians achieve in just one race. And with several months left to go, it begs the question of what’s next. Sub 10? Usain Bolt at age 20 ran 10.03, and then the next year, 9.69. Gout Gout’s not only younger than that, he’s now faster. So I think it’s safe to say that right now, anything is possible.

4. Cole Hocker called and Isaac Nader responded

When Isaac Nader won the 1500m world title last year, as well as a gold medal, there was also a big ‘what if’ being hung round his neck. That ‘what if’ concerned a certain Cole Hocker. Olympic 1500m champion from 2024 who was most notably absent from the final after a disqualification. The conversation had since died down, but then just last week Cole Hocker ran a US indoor mile record and everything was brought back up to the surface. Could Isaac Nader still win a 1500m with Cole Hocker there? After all, it wasn’t so much what Cole Hocker ran, it was how. And that how was right from the front, almost all the way. Chasing times, as well as position. 

Gearing up for a head-to-head

The reason it caused such a stir was because up until now, Cole Hocker had been known to win in one particular way: at the last minute. A final sprint was how he won the Olympic 1500m, and a final sprint was how he won the most recent world 5000m. And that is also, the exact the same way Isaac Nader won the world 1500m which Cole Hocker wasn’t there to contest.

But Isaac Nader’s run in Liévin on Thursday was different. He was up there, pushing the pace, the entire time. In fact he pushed it so hard he broke the Portuguese national indoor record with his time of 3:32.44. 0.15 seconds faster than his previous personal best. And, most importantly, almost 2 seconds faster than his Tokyo winning time outdoors last year. The win may not have looked so comfortable towards the end of the race, with Isaac Nader glancing backwards and slowing slightly, but he’d built himself such a lead by then that the victory was still a decisive one.

Cole Hocker proved he can win both ways, and, as if in response, so has Isaac Nader. When it finally comes into fruition, this might just be one of the most anticipated head-to-heads of 2026.

5. Castellón 10km- a new European duo is born

Everyone loves an underdog story. Not that two 10,000m European medallists can really be called underdogs, but they certainly weren’t the outstanding favourites going into Sunday’s Castellón 10km. Those favourites were 10km European road record holders Eilish McColgan and Andreas Almgren, back on Spanish soil after their historic double last month in Valencia. Those two records were lowered this Sunday just like they’d hoped, only not exactly in the way they’d hoped. At all. Instead those records were snatched right in front of their faces by a completely different pair of Europeans. Spain loves a double record, but with that has to come double the thrill. And when Great Britain’s Megan Keith and France’s Yann Schrub crossed the line in 30.07 and 29.43 respectively, that’s exactly what we got.

Yann Schrub- male European 10km road record holder

Yann Schrub has had an incredible season so far. Just a few weeks ago he broke world 10,000m champion Jimmy Gressier’s indoor 3000m national record, dipping under 7:30 for the first time ever with 7:29.38. Unexpected, but most definitely not undeserved. With the likes of Azeddine Habz, national record holder for France in both the mile and 1500m, Yann Schrub’s distance prowess can go understated. Last year in Metz he ran 7:35.11. This year, he went almost 6 seconds faster to set the national record. Azeddine Habz on the other hand, targeted that same 3000m record this Thursday and did look set to achieve it having built up an almost 50m lead. But he faded so spectacularly over the last lap that he fell back into 4th and dragged his record hopes back there with him.

Then we come to the Castellón 10km this Sunday. Yann Schrub finishes 2nd, shaving 2 seconds off the record set by 10,000m world bronze medallist Andreas Almgren behind him in third. Who, ironically, equalled his own former record of 26:45. In the end, Yann Shrub’s previous 10km road PB of 27:20 from last December received the same treatment as his 3000m mark. It was absolutely shattered.

Megan Keith- female European 10km road record holder

As if that wasn’t enough, over on the women’s side, Megan Keith took even more off her personal best. Over a minute’s improvement from 31:22 was what it took to knock just that crucial second off the previous record of 30:08. She was also rewarded with a 4th place finish overall, two ahead of previous record holder Eilish McColgan in 6th. In fact both previous European record holders were present. Belgium’s Jana Van Lent, who set her time of 30:09 just a week before McColgan, ended up in 8th with 30:50. The women’s 10km road European record has moved around a lot in these past two months, but maybe Megan Keith’s name will be the place it can finally call home. For now, at least.

Records weren’t the only thing falling at the Castellón 10km though. Athletes were too. And a lot of them at that. The start was so crowded it became a fight to stay on your feet rather than a fight for early positions. Jana Van Lent herself went straight to the floor and was left cowering there as the runners came charging over her. But beauty springs from chaos, I guess. And those two European records were quite the sight to behold.

History might need a rewrite (or two)

To put this week into perspective, we’re now almost two months into 2026 and 4 of the 8 oldest short track world records have already been broken. The history books simply can’t catch a break (not that I’m complaining). When it comes to the track, there’s no rest for the wicked. Or any type of record, either.