by Stuart Weir
Although the Keely Klassic had some complications in its first year, Stuart Weir noted that it did a great job attracting young people to the sport!
Keely Klassic
Imagine you had promoted a Taylor Swift concert, sold loads of tickets, and had a TV deal in place, and then 3 days before the event, the show star had to pull out due to illness. That is what happened to the organizers of the Keely Klassic. The event’s centerpiece was Keely’s attempt to break the longstanding world 800m short track record, set by Jolanda Ceplak of Slovenia on 3rd March 2002 – the day that Keely was born. Then, Keely got injured.
There was no possibility of re-arranging, so the options were to go ahead with the event with the supporting acts only or cancel and lose a lot of money. The only choice was to go ahead with the event with World Athletics Bronze status. To be fair, Keely was around and evident – chatting to athletes, interacting with spectators, and signing autographs.
The program started at 11:00 a.m. and continued until 4:30 p.m. A real bonus—and an important one for the athletes—was a chance to run on the track where the GB champs and selection trials for the European Indoors will be held next weekend.
The program’s highlight was the last race, the women’s 1500m won by Georgia Hunter Bell (Miss Bell is now Mrs Hunter), in a PR of 4:00.63. She told AW, “There are so many young people here – and especially girls – who look up to what Keely has achieved. There seemed to be more fun and less pressure today, which was great.” Of her unsuccessful attempt at the GB national record, she said: “I’m proud about how I went for it, and it’s important to always try to shoot for it, so it gives me confidence that I can win races when it’s scrappy like in New York (Millrose Games) and also when I front run.”
Molly Caudery won the Pole Vault with 4.73, commenting: “I’m very excited for the season. I know I’m in excellent shape this year, so I am excited to see how it goes. I have Euro Indoors and World Indoors coming up, and World Outdoors will be in September, so it will be a long season. I think, technically, this was a really good competition. I competed two days ago and might have been a bit tired, so I started off a short run. Therefore, to clear 4.73m after competing two days ago, I am thrilled. I decided to retire from the competition (after 4.73) as many competitions are coming up shortly.”
Amy Hunt won the 60m in 7.24, and apparently, her dog was pleased, too. Afterward, she said, “My season has been a bit frustrating as I’ve been training incredibly well, and we are seeing a different person in these races. We are waiting for it to click and change and still waiting for that to happen. Competing in England means returning home for the first time and seeing my dog. That’s my celebration”.
Lina Nielsen set the first British record of the day with 36.53 in the 300m, taking down Dina Asher-Smith’s national mark of 36.77. She was delighted, commenting: “I knew it was within my reach as I’ve been training well. I knew I had to commit for the first 200 – the goal was 23.3 – and on the last 100, I felt strong and believed I could do it. A 300m requires big differences in tactics compared to the 400m because we are climbing two hills. You have to attack both hills, so there’s a lot of thinking. You cannot fear the tactic”.
The highlight of the men’s program was the 1000m, with Samuel Chapple winning a Dutch national record of 2:16.09 from Neil Gourley, whose 2:16.74 was both a Scottish and British record. Gourley said: “The race was harder than I thought it would be. I felt a bit tired from racing and training in the US this week, and I still feel jetlagged. Breaking the record was good for me as it allowed me to give something back to the crowd”.
Typically, flash quotes are collected for media in the private mixed zone; here, athletes were interviewed in the arena – sitting on a throne – with the interview broadcast to the crowd – and with questions beyond athletics to introduce the athletes as people to the spectators. Questions covered pre-race preparation, race-day breakfast, and favorite place to train.
The event was a success in the circumstances. The crowd of 4,000 (capacity 7,000) would undoubtedly have been significantly more with Keely able to run. A real positive was the number of young girls watching; we understand there are plans for the event to be held again next year.
MAIN RESULTS
60m
1 Amy Hunt 7.24
300m
1 Lina Nilsen 36.53 NR
800
1 Isabelle Boffey 2:01.69
1500
1 Georgia Hunter Bell 4:00.63 PB
PV
1 Molly Caudery 4.73
Men
60m
1 Yoshiki Kinashi 6.62
400
1 Patrick Domotor 46.61 PB
800
1 Justin Davies 1:45.78 PB
1000
1 Samuel Chapple 2:16.09
2 Neil Gourley 2:16.79 NR
Long Jump
1 Eusebio Caceres Spain 7.73
2 Jacob Fincham-Dukes 7.68
Full results are available at
Keely Klassic Results – World Athletics Indoor Tour – Bronze – Birmingham 2025 – Sport – undefined
