BIRMINGHAM, England : Switzerland’s Audrey Werro capped a remarkable rise by beating Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson to win the women’s 800 metres at the European Athletics Championships on Friday, a day after suffering a heavy fall in the semi-finals.
Werro, 22, pulled away from Britain’s Hodgkinson over the final 150 metres to win in one minute 54.81 seconds. Hodgkinson finished second in 1:55.01, with twice world 400m hurdles champion Femke Bol taking bronze in 1:55.54 after a successful move up to the 800m.
The victory was Werro’s first senior championship title and sets up an intriguing rematch with Hodgkinson at next month’s World Ultimate Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Werro had to overcome a dramatic semi-final in which she fell heavily and finished last. She was reinstated for the final after officials determined that France’s Anais Bourgoin had made contact with her right foot before the incident.
“It’s been up and down over the last hours, I’m very happy with the medal,” Werro said.
The Swiss took the lead from the start and repeatedly glanced over her shoulder during the closing stages before powering clear of Hodgkinson down the home straight.
“A bit of mixed emotions,” Hodgkinson told the BBC. “I think with that level of competition, any medal is a really good achievement and another one to add to my collection so I can never be disappointed with that. But I’m defending champion so I wanted to do that.”
Werro has emerged as one of the fastest 800m runners in history this season, clocking 1:53.80 at the Paris Diamond League in June, the third-fastest time ever. Jarmila Kratochvilova’s world record of 1:53.28 has stood since 1983.
In the men’s 400m hurdles, Norway’s Karsten Warholm won his fourth consecutive European title in 46.63 seconds, breaking his own championship record.
“This means a lot and now I have more European golds than anyone before me in the 400m hurdles,” Warholm told the BBC.
Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi, meanwhile, cleared 2.32 metres to claim his fourth European high jump title after struggling with injuries over the past two seasons.
