LAUSANNE, Switzerland : Switzerland’s Audrey Werro delighted the home crowd by winning the women’s 800 metres at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting on Friday, holding off a fast-finishing Femke Broeders-Bol to add another chapter to her breakthrough season.
The 22-year-old, who earlier this season ran the fastest women’s 800 metres in 43 years to establish herself among the world’s elite middle-distance runners, crossed the line in 1:55.33 after fading over the final 200 metres following a sizzling opening lap.
The victory came a week after Werro beat Britain’s Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson to claim her first European title.
“The turnaround after the European Championships was very short, so I had to recover quickly, and I felt more tired than usual today,” Werro said.
“Despite that, I managed to win, so I’m very happy.”
Broeders-Bol, a two-time world champion over 400m hurdles who moved up to the 800 this season, finished second in 1:55.41.
“This race gives me even more confidence that I belong with the best,” the Dutchwoman said. “I need to trust myself, keep pushing after 500 metres, stop protecting myself too much and simply enjoy racing.”
Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana cruised to victory in the men’s 200m in 19.87 seconds, just 0.03 outside his season’s best, laying down a marker ahead of next month’s World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest.
“For me, it was all about running the curve and executing the first 150 metres, then seeing how the race developed,” Tebogo said.
“It has been challenging to maintain this level throughout the whole season. The last five weeks I have been focused on training hard in the gym. Now it’s about enjoying every race in this final part of the season so that it doesn’t take a toll on my mental health.”
South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile was second in 19.98.
WANYONYI WINS FIRST 800 OF SEASON
Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya claimed his first 800m victory of the season, powering into the lead in the final 20 metres to win in 1:42.19.
“I had a battle, especially over the final 100 metres, but I felt very strong and I’m happy to have won the race,” Wanyonyi said.
“My legs were beginning to tighten, but I kept pushing all the way to the finish.”
Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati was second in 1:42.31, with American Brandon Miller third in 1:42.55. Canada’s 2023 world champion Marco Arop, who led for most of the race, faded to fourth.
American Kayla White won the women’s 200m in 22.18 seconds, while Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, a two-time world champion in the event, pulled up with an apparent hamstring injury coming off the bend.
Britain’s Amy Hunt finished second in 22.32, a week after becoming the first athlete to win four gold medals at a single European Championship.
Hunt edged Nigeria’s Favour Ofili, who was third in a photo finish.
Olympic champion Masai Russell of the United States led from the first barrier to win the women’s 100m hurdles in 12.27 seconds for her ninth consecutive victory this season.
“It was another win, so it keeps the streak alive, and I’m very pleased,” Russell said. “I hadn’t raced in a month, so I was really happy to see that my performance was right where I left it.”
Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi won the women’s 3,000m steeplechase in 9:00.04, ahead of Kenyan world champion Faith Cherotich in 9:01.90.
