Audrey Werro of Switzerland powered to a championship record of 1:54.81 in taking the women’s 800m title the Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships on Friday (14) evening.
The 22-year-old continued her brilliant form this season to hold off defending champion and home favourite Keely Hodgkinson with Femke Broeders-Bol of the Netherlands claiming bronze in her first season at the event.
In summary
- Werro broke a championship record that had stood since 1982
- Hodgkinson settled for silver in 1:55.01 after golds at the previous two Europeans
- Broeders-Bol equalled Ellen van Langen’s Dutch record set at the 1992 Olympics
It was a statement run that confirmed the performance in Stockholm earlier this summer where Werro beat Hodgkinson for the first time and ran the third-fastest time in history with 1:53.98, a time which she improved to 1:53.80 in Paris, was no one-off.
Showing no visible ill-effects from a heavy fall in the semifinals when she was clipped with 150 metres and only advanced through to the final by the referee, the European U23 gold medallist from last year in Bergen showed no hesitation in sweeping into the lead despite the noise from a capacity crowd that had surrounded Hodgkinson’s entry onto the track.
The defending champion gave chase. As did Broeders-Bol, with only a handful of competitive 800m races under her belt since her switch from the 400m hurdles this year, while Great Britain’s Jemma Reekie flung everything at holding onto the trio.
The order remained unchanged coming off the final bend and Werro simply refused to give up her place at the front.
Powering away down the home straight, she left Hodgkinson chasing shadows under the lights to claim a first major senior title and surpass the championship record of Olga Mineyeva of 1:55.41 that had stood since Athens 1982.
Her lion celebration – sparked by advice from her father when she was a child to be brave rather than meek – underlined this show of strength. How she roared.
Hodgkinson, the Olympic champion, victor at the past two-time European Athletics Championships, had a silver medal as consolation but she had come for gold.
Lithuania’s Gabija Galvydyte, who was also embroiled in the collision in yesterday's semifinals, snatched a distant fourth from Reekie by three-hundredths of a second, 1:59.12 to 1:59.15.
What they said
Audrey Werro (SUI)
"I knew I could be European champion one day. I hope to be faster and faster next year. When I was a child, my dad used to tell me I have to be a lion. I shouldn't be shy and let other athletes go past me so I decided to do a celebration with that when I crossed the line."
Keely Hodgkinson (GBR)
"It doesn't sting because I was beaten by a great athlete. I think I put together a pretty good race. I don't think I did anything wrong. The thing about the 800m is you can have a million different ways it could go in your head. Nobody really knew, so you have to think on your feet. But I think I covered every move well. I just didn't have enough."
Femke Broeders-Bol (NED)
"From 600-700, I let them go too much. I think that's a hard part for me still because you start to get very tired. Compared to hurdles, it's different. You are tired earlier, and you still have 200m to go. And I think I let them go a bit too much. Then I was like 'last 100, do I go to the outside or not? I was like, okay, just try.'
"That's where I let the gap open and of course, from Audrey over to Keely, there's a bigger gap between me and Audrey. Keely got closer to her but I think half-a-second is quite close to some of the very best in the world."