Great Britain
2020
Three British records in February, an empty arena in September and an 18-year-old champion nobody watched — the year that stopped, and what it still produced.
British athletics lost its 2020 season to the pandemic and still came out of it with four national records and a debut that mattered: Jemma Reekie's 1:57.91 indoor 800 metres in February, two more British records at the Millrose Games, Harry Coppell's 5.85 pole vault, and Keely Hodgkinson winning the British 800 metres title at 18 in a closed Manchester arena.
This is the season as a baton handover: Meadows to Reekie to Hodgkinson — and the 2026 ending, in which the teenager from the empty arena holds the indoor world record. Plus a Team GB 2020-cycle piece in this archive.
Part of our Season Series — one year at a time. The full national story is in The History of Athletics in Great Britain. Jump to the 2020 kit or browse the collection.
- February, Glasgow
- Reekie 1:57.91 — British indoor 800 record and world lead; Muir 2nd, 1:58.44 PB
- February, New York
- Two more British records for Reekie: mile 4:17.88, 1500 4:00.56 en route
- August, Monaco
- Muir breaks Kelly Holmes's British 1000 m record
- August, Stockholm
- Muir 3:57.87, the world's fastest 1500 of 2020 — a British 1-2-3
- 4–5 September
- British Championships in a closed Manchester Regional Arena, on the BBC
- Manchester
- Coppell 5.85, British pole vault record — in the emptiest season on record
- The debut
- Hodgkinson, 18, British 800 m champion — the youngest the event had had
- The 2026 ending
- Hodgkinson: 1:54.87 indoor world record (Liévin) and the world indoor title
What the February Got In Before the Door Closed
The season that never happened had a beginning. In February 2020, at Glasgow, Jemma Reekie ran 1:57.91 for 800 metres indoors: a British record that took down Jenny Meadows's ten-year-old 1:58.43, and the world lead, with Laura Muir second in a personal-best 1:58.44. A week later, at the Millrose Games in New York, Reekie broke two more British indoor records — the mile in 4:17.88, with 4:00.56 at 1500 metres on the way through.
The record that sat still for ten years.
Taken in Glasgow weeks before the season stopped — and followed by two more British records at the Millrose Games.
age 21The 18-year-old who won her first British title in the empty Manchester of September 2020 now holds the indoor world record — and the world indoor title.
age 24Hover or tab on a leg. Sources: Athletics Weekly; scottishathletics; BBC Sport; World Athletics; Wikipedia. Verified August 2026.
The baton (table)
| Leg | Mark |
|---|---|
| Jenny Meadows, 2010 | 1:58.43 — the British indoor record for a decade |
| Jemma Reekie, Glasgow, Feb 2020 | 1:57.91 — British record and world lead; Laura Muir second in a personal-best 1:58.44 |
| Reekie, Millrose, a week later | Two more British indoor records: the mile in 4:17.88, with 4:00.56 at 1500 m en route |
| Keely Hodgkinson, Sep 2020 | British senior 800 m champion at 18, in a Manchester arena closed to the public |
| Hodgkinson, Feb 2026 | 1:56.33 British record, then 1:54.87 in Liévin — the indoor world record |
| Hodgkinson, Mar 2026 | World indoor champion in 1:55.30, winning by 1.34 seconds |
Then the door closed. The world indoor championships were postponed, the outdoor season evaporated, and the British Championships were rescheduled to 4–5 September at the Manchester Regional Arena, behind closed doors, on the BBC. And in that empty arena, an 18-year-old called Keely Hodgkinson won the British senior 800 metres title — the youngest champion the event had had.
The August That Escaped, and the Circle Closing
Between the two, there was a European August. In Monaco, on 14 August, Laura Muir broke Kelly Holmes's British 1000 m record; nine days later, in Stockholm, she won the Diamond League 1500 in 3:57.87, the fastest in the world that year, leading a British one-two-three with Laura Weightman and Melissa Courtney-Bryant. Reekie won the 800 at the same meeting. And in Manchester, Harry Coppell cleared 5.85 for a British pole vault record in the middle of the emptiest season anyone could remember.
The circle closed in 2026, and it closed hard. Hodgkinson took the British indoor 800 record down to 1:56.33 in February, and five days later in Liévin ran 1:54.87 — the indoor world record, taking almost a full second off a mark set on the day she was born. In March she won the world indoor title in 1:55.30, by 1.34 seconds. The record Reekie grabbed in the last free weeks of 2020 belongs to the teenager who won her first title in the year's empty arena.
From this season · in the archiveAdidas Great Britain Pro Elite Tokyo 2020 T-ShirtTeam GB tee marked for Tokyo 2020 — Olympic-cycle issue for a Games that happened a year late.40,00 €View piece →Two Kits, Two Programmes
British Athletics has been with Nike since 2013 — a seven-year, roughly £15 million agreement that replaced adidas and still runs today, covering the age groups and the para squad as well. That is the team kit of the championships in this page.
The archive's 2020 piece is an adidas-marked Team GB Olympic-cycle tee — the Olympic programme is a separate contract from British Athletics' own Nike kit. We can attest to the mark on the garment; that is the claim we print.
The GB rail also holds a run of Nike Great Britain 2019 pieces from the championship team kit of the era — the season before the year that stopped. The full arc is in our history of athletics in Great Britain.
Great Britain 2020
A Team GB piece marked for the Tokyo 2020 cycle — Olympic issue for a Games that happened a year late — alongside the Nike Great Britain 2019 championship-team run on the same rail.
What did British athletics achieve in the 2020 season?
Four national records and one debut: Jemma Reekie's British indoor 800 m (1:57.91) plus the mile and 1500 indoors, Harry Coppell's 5.85 pole vault, Laura Muir's 1000 m record in Monaco, and Keely Hodgkinson's British 800 m title at 18.
Where were the 2020 British Championships held?
At the Manchester Regional Arena on 4–5 September, behind closed doors and broadcast by the BBC.
Does Reekie's British indoor 800 record still stand?
No. Keely Hodgkinson lowered it to 1:56.33 in February 2026 and then ran 1:54.87 in Liévin — the indoor world record — before taking the world indoor title in March 2026 in 1:55.30.
What kit did Great Britain wear in 2020?
British Athletics has been outfitted by Nike since 2013. The Olympic programme is a separate contract: the Great Britain collection holds an adidas-marked Team GB tee from the Tokyo 2020 cycle, along with Nike Great Britain 2019 team pieces.
Sources and References
- Athletics Weekly — Reekie’s British indoor 800 record — the 1:57.91 and Muir’s 1:58.44
- BBC Sport — Reekie at the Millrose Games — the mile and 1500 British records
- Wikipedia — 2020 British Athletics Championships — the closed-doors Manchester meeting, Coppell’s 5.85 and the titles
- World Athletics — Hodgkinson’s British indoor record — the 1:56.33 and the road to the world record
- British Athletics — the Nike partnership — Nike as team kit partner since 2013