Hodgkinson, Azu And Pattison Lead The Way On Day One Of The World Indoor Championships
21st March 2026The opening session of the 2026 World Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland saw four athletes of the Novuna Great Britain and Northern Ireland team progress to their respective semi-finals after a strong morning on the track. Jeremiah Azu (Cardiff, Helen James), Keely Hodgkinson (Leigh, Trevor Painter) and Ben Pattison (Basingstoke & Mid Hants, Dave Ragan) all won their heats, while Issy Boffey (Enfield & Haringey, Luke Gunn) also advanced.
The British campaign began with Jeremiah Azu and Jody Smith (Thames Valley, Alex Currie) in the men’s 60m heats. Azu cruised through his race, confidently opening his title defense with a win in 6.55, the fastest heat time of his career.
His time placed him fifth overall among qualifiers. Reflecting on a smooth start ahead of this evening’s semi-final, Azu said: “I’m feeling good and it was a nice run. It’s warm out there, which is always a positive. I came out to run a solid time, but that wasn’t my main focus — just finishing on top. This is the fastest heat I’ve ever raced in my life, and the effort was very minimal.”
On his senior international debut, Smith started strongly but finished fourth in 6.65, narrowly missing out on a non-automatic qualifying spot for the semi-finals.
In the women’s 400m, both Yemi Mary John (Woodford Green Essex Ladies, Alan James) and Louisa Stoney (Belgrave Harriers, Marvin Rowe) missed out on progression after a physical set of heats.
Stoney mounted a determined final-straight push but narrowly finished fourth in 52.24. Despite the disappointment, the championship debutant remained upbeat as she prepares for the mixed 4x400m relay tomorrow.
“I really enjoyed the experience and I’m super proud to be out there representing Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The goal was to execute a little better than I did, but I’m still going to enjoy every moment and be proud of where I am. Hopefully there are many more experiences to come.”
All eyes were on Keely Hodgkinson as she returned to the track for the first time since breaking the world indoor 800m record. She opened her campaign with a composed heat victory in 2:00.32, her focus firmly on securing the World Indoor title.
Issy Boffey rounded off the women’s 800m heats, sitting behind Italy’s Eloisa Coiro before making a bold move to the front at the bell. She couldn’t quite hold the lead in the closing metres, finishing third behind Coiro and Poland’s Angelika Wielgosz. Thanks to the fast pace, her 2:00.17 earned her the top non-automatic qualifying spot for tomorrow’s semi-final.
“My aim today was to make it one round further than last time, which I’ve done, so I’m happy. Obviously I’d have liked to finish top two, but I didn’t have it in the last 5m. I just wanted to create some space — indoors there can be lots of pushing and shoving. I’m feeling good for tomorrow.”
Ben Pattison closed out the British action in the morning session, controlling his 800m heat from the front. Both France’s Terrasse and Australia’s Abdelrahim challenged, but Pattison held them off on the final bend before kicking clear to win in 1:47.47, securing his place in Saturday morning’s semi-final.
“It was a good race; I expected it to be harder. I put myself at the front — my coach said, ‘Get into a good position and make it easy for yourself.’ Once I got there, it was just a waiting game to see when they’d make their move, because I wasn’t going to move from the front; they’d have to go around me. I knew I had another gear and managed to hold everyone off.”
The action continues tonight from 5pm on BBC Two, with the 1500m campaigns beginning for Georgia Hunter Bell, Jemma Reekie, James McMurray and Jack Higgens, and as Azu continues his title defense.