Audrey Werro Makes History

It was a seismic performance, “a race for the history books”, as international media described it. On Sunday evening in Stockholm, Audrey Werro produced the third fastest 800m ever run, clocking 1:53.98 and defeating Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson after a breathtaking race, the fastest women’s 800m seen since 1983.

By almost universal consensus, the athlete from Fribourg delivered the standout performance of the night, eclipsing even the likes of Armand Duplantis, who suffered his first defeat in the pole vault in three years, finishing second with 5.80m behind Australia’s Kurtis Marschall (5.90m). Werro and Hodgkinson were expertly paced by Biel’s Rachel Klopfenstein (formerly Pellaud), and as they entered the home straight, Werro moved wide, launched her attack and powered past the Briton, who finished second in 1:54.33. Until now, many experts had viewed Hodgkinson as the most likely athlete to finally break Jarmila Kratochvílová’s legendary world record of 1:53.28, set back in 1983.

Now, that certainty has faded.Could it be Werro who eventually topples one of the sport’s oldest and most iconic records? At just 22 years old, the Athletissima ambassador has, in our view, produced the greatest performance ever achieved by a Swiss athlete in the Diamond League, and arguably one of the finest performances by any Swiss athlete in a modern outdoor meeting. Her previous Swiss record stood at 1:55.91, set last summer in Zurich. To slice almost two full seconds off that mark in only her second race of the season is simply extraordinary. An unforgettable race. A historic performance.

Relive this phenomenal race on RTS, at this link.