Elliot Giles claims British record with second-fastest indoor 800m in history

Elliot Giles destroyed Sebastian Coe’s long-standing British indoor 800m record in Poland on Wednesday night with an astonishing run that will again raise questions about spike technology in athletics.

The 26-year-old, a European bronze medallist in 2016, shocked the sport with a 1min 43.63sec performance to go second on the global all-time list behind Wilson Kipketer.

The Nike athlete took more than a second off Coe’s record, but while he is clearly in excellent form, technological advances within athletics are skewing the benchmark expectations around performance.

Elliot Giles shocked the sport with a performance to go second on the global all-time list

It is Giles’ third victory of the series, following wins in the season opener in Karlsruhe and the tour’s second meet in Lievin on February 9. 

Giles’ time is only bettered by Wilson Kipketer’s indoor world record of 1min 42.67sec. Webb, 26, also ran within the record previously set by Coe.

Meanwhile, five former Russian Athletics Federation officials have been banned from the sport for obstructing an anti-doping investigation.