Keely Hodgkinson was forced to settle for European silver as Switzerland’s Audrey Werro denied the Briton a third consecutive title in a thrilling women’s 800m final in Birmingham.
The most eagerly anticipated event of the championships culminated in the expected three-way battle for supremacy between Hodgkinson, Swiss 22-year-old Werro and Dutch star Femke Broeders-Bol in front of a captivated sellout crowd of 23,000 inside Alexander Stadium.
Seeking to reassert her dominance in the event, Olympic champion Hodgkinson was roared on in pursuit of Werro by her home support but was unable to overhaul her new rival in the closing stages.
Having this season become the fastest athlete since the world record was set 43 years ago, Werro finished strong to land her first senior international title in a championship record one minute 54.81 seconds.
While not the medal Hodgkinson had hoped for, silver represented the 24-year-old’s 12th senior international medal since she claimed her first as a teenager at the European Indoor Championships five years ago.
Hodgkinson allowed Werro to take charge on the opening lap before attempting to make her move on the final bend – just as the Swiss had done to her when she prevailed in Stockholm in June – but her rival would not relent.
Her silver, in 1:55.01secs, was the British team’s 10th medal in five days at their home championships, after Zharnel Hughes earlier took silver in the men’s 200m.
Hughes, world 100m bronze medallist in 2023, led coming off the bend but was overhauled by Germany’s fast-finishing Owen Ansah, who took victory in 19.95 seconds.
Werro ruins Hodgkinson’s European treble bid
Werro’s triumph was all the more impressive given she suffered a nasty fall in her semi-final on Thursday, before later being reinstated into the final.
Replays showed the left hand of France’s Anais Bourgoin had clipped Werro’s right foot. But, clutching her chest in pain as she jogged across the line, she still faced a race against time to recover.
That drama led to a congested 10-athlete final – but, despite Briton Jemma Reekie’s best efforts, there only ever appeared three contenders for gold.
Hodgkinson, who twice beat Werro during the indoor season – including to win her first world title – was stunned when the European under-23 champion surged past her at the Stockholm Diamond League in June and produced the first sub-1:54 clocking since 1983.
Hodgkinson, who achieved the first major outdoor title of her career at the European Championships in 2022 before retaining the title in Rome two years ago, vowed not to allow that to happen again.
But Werro crashed her bid to become the first British woman to win three consecutive European titles in the same event, proving she will be a force to be reckoned with on athletics’ biggest stages over the coming years.
Hodgkinson can also expect Broeders-Bol, third in 1:55.54, to only improve with World Championship gold up for grabs next year, following the rapid progress made by the two-time world 400m hurdles champion since switching events this season.
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