'I love the city' says Birmingham runner eyeing glory

Issy Boffey has spoken of her excitement to race in front of a home crowd in Birmingham, just a fortnight after running the second-fastest indoor 800m by a British woman in history.

She will appear at the UK Athletics Indoor Championships at the Utilita Arena this weekend, a short distance from her base at the University of Birmingham.

The postgraduate scholar clocked 1:57.43 in Boston, USA, at the end of January, improving her personal best by almost two seconds and making her the eighth-fastest woman ever indoors over the distance.

Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson, who holds the British record of 1:57.18, is the only person from the UK to have gone quicker than her.

Boffey, who won the UK indoor title in 2023 and 2025, is now chasing a third crown at the Utilita in what organisers hope could be one of the races of the weekend.

The 25-year-old, who represents Great Britain and Wales, told BBC Radio WM that the moment she crossed the line in Boston had been circulating on social media.

"I thought that was a solid run," she recalled. "Then I turned around and it was three seconds quicker than I'd run the previous week. My jaw dropped.

"Part of me still doesn't believe it. People always say your quickest runs feel almost easy, which is absolutely crazy."

With selection for next month's World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland on her mind, Boffey said she "loved the city" and support would be a major factor this weekend.

"It makes such a difference having the home crowd," she said. "All of my friends come, the guys from the university come over for support.

"You can always hear the big cheers on the start line as well."

Boffey also has her sights on this summer's European Championships, which are also in Birmingham, as well as the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

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