BOSTON, February 24, 2024 — Isabelle Boffey shattered expectations Saturday, running the second-fastest indoor 800m ever recorded by a British athlete with a blistering time of one minute 57.43 seconds at the BU Terrier Classic in Boston.
A New Personal Best and Rising Momentum
Boffey’s stunning performance places her among the elite in the 800m, setting the stage for a potentially breakthrough year.
- Boffey’s time is the fastest in the world this year for the 800m.
- She is now the eighth-fastest woman ever over the distance indoors.
- The 25-year-old shaved nearly two seconds off her previous personal best.
- Boffey is targeting success at the Commonwealth Games and European Championships.
The 25-year-old’s time was a significant leap forward, almost two seconds faster than her previous best, achieved both indoors and outdoors. Only Keely Hodgkinson, the 2024 Olympic champion, holds a faster British indoor 800m record at 1:57.18. “It was absolutely the race of my life,” Boffey said.
Boffey credited her recent success to a strong partnership with her coach. “Things with my coach and I have been going really well and I am in such a happy and healthy place,” she explained. “I am in shock but it does make sense with the training I’ve been doing.”
Looking Ahead to Summer Championships
Boffey has her sights set on representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games and competing at the European Championships in Birmingham in August, her hometown. She acknowledged the competitive landscape, particularly within Great Britain.
“There is lots of competition with only two spots and obviously Georgia and Keely both won [World Championships] medals last year,” Boffey added, referencing Georgia Hunter Bell and Keely Hodgkinson’s silver and bronze medals in the 800m at the World Championships in Tokyo in September. She is currently based at Birmingham University and will assess her options after the British Championships in two weeks.
“That time now will give me so much confidence going on to a world stage, do some Diamond League meets and prove to everyone and myself that I can be competitive,” she stated. “The Europeans and Commonwealth Games this year is good as it is that stepping stone to the Worlds and Olympics.”
Boffey expressed a sense of limitless potential. “The sky is the limit – I can take away so much confidence. Having known I could do this time but then proving it, does mean a lot to me. Now I feel like I can do anything.”
