Athletics-Switzerland's Werro stunned to get win over Hodgkinson so soon


Athletics - Diamond League - Stockholm - Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden - June 7, 2026 Switzerland's Audrey Werro celebrates after winning the women's 800m Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via REUTERS

June 9 (Reuters) - Switzerland's Audrey Werro ⁠said she was not expecting to beat Olympic champion Keely ⁠Hodgkinson in the 800 metres at the Stockholm Diamond League on ‌Sunday, let alone to do it with the third-fastest time in history.

Werro crossed the line in one minute and 53.98 secondsat the meet, with Hodgkinson coming second in a personal ​best of 1:54.33.

"This is crazy. I need time ⁠to process this," Werro told ⁠Olympics.com in an interview published on Monday. "This is becoming more real and ⁠to ‌be honest it is a bit scary. I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.

"It was a big day for me because ⁠it was my first win in the Diamond League ​with Keely. It ‌has been a goal of mine just to finish in front ⁠of her because ​I know she's really fast."

Werro said it had not been part of her plans to run ahead of the Briton.

"Instead, I was thinking of staying in the ⁠third position and letting her go in ​front," she added. "But I went so fast at the beginning that I was just behind her, so I said to myself, 'I'm going to step forward bravely, ⁠change the processes and see what happens'."

Hodgkinson has set her sights on bettering the world record of 1:53.28 set by Czech Jarmila Kratochvilova in 1983 -- the longest-standing track record.

Werro, 22, said she too had thought about going ​for that record at some point, but at ⁠a later point in her career.

“A year ago, it was in my goals, ​in my dreams to think of the world ‌record. I didn't expect it to ​happen so quickly, but it is now very exciting for me," she added.

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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