Audrey Werro wins Budapest 800m title ahead of Keely Hodgkinson

Audrey Werro won the women's 800m at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest on Saturday, finishing ahead of Keely Hodgkinson and Femke Broeders-Bol. World Athletics reported that the Swiss runner clocked 1:55.88, while Hodgkinson took second in 1:56.26 and Broeders-Bol finished third in 1:56.74.

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Werro controlled the opening lap, passing halfway in 57.83 with Broeders-Bol following and Hodgkinson just behind. The three drew together with 200 metres remaining, but Werro accelerated away towards the finishing straight. Hodgkinson overtook Broeders-Bol late in the race without catching the leader, leaving Werro with another victory over her principal rivals.

The podium repeated the order at the European Championships. In comments reported by World Athletics, Werro expressed delight at the result and credited the work behind her outdoor success. Hodgkinson said she was proud of her performance despite wanting to win, while Broeders-Bol described her first season in the event positively.

Werro's summer progression had already made her the leading contender. In its pre-event assessment, World Athletics detailed how she ran 1:53.98 in Stockholm in June, becoming only the third woman to break 1:54. She then lowered her best to 1:53.80 in Paris and 1:53.70 in Zurich, moving within 0.42 seconds of Jarmila Kratochvilova's world record.

Hodgkinson's route to Budapest had been interrupted. The Olympic champion missed Zurich and the Diamond League Final in Brussels because of a hamstring issue, according to World Athletics' pre-event reporting. Earlier in the year, she had set a world indoor record of 1:54.87 and won the world indoor title in Torun, before recording a British outdoor record of 1:54.33 in Stockholm.

Broeders-Bol brought a different trajectory into the final after switching from the 400m hurdles this season. Her improvement included a 1:54.71 performance in Zurich that put her ninth on the world all-time list. In Brussels, she finished only 0.06 seconds behind Werro, whose winning time was 1:54.75. Budapest nevertheless ended with Werro again ahead of both challengers.