Werro beats Hodgkinson to win European 800m gold in Birmingham
Audrey Werro of Switzerland defeated Keely Hodgkinson to claim the women's 800m title at the European Championships in Birmingham's Alexander Stadium on 14 August 2026, winning in a championship-record 1:54.81. Olympic champion Hodgkinson finished second in 1:55.01, with Femke Broeders-Bol taking bronze in 1:55.54.
The race had been billed as a three-way showdown among Hodgkinson, 22-year-old Werro and Dutch athlete Broeders-Bol in front of a sellout crowd of 23,000 at Alexander Stadium as Hodgkinson sought a third consecutive European outdoor crown. Werro entered the final on the back of a breakthrough season in which she became the fastest athlete since the world record was set 43 years ago.
Werro produced a strong finish to take her first senior international title in 1:54.81, a championship record, while Hodgkinson was unable to reel her in during the closing stages. Broeders-Bol completed the podium in 1:55.54 as the anticipated contest between the three athletes decided the medals.
"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. "I knew it was going to come down to the wire but I really thought I was going to win today. "It wasn't meant to be. I didn't do anything wrong - it was just one of those things." The 24-year-old's silver was her 12th senior international medal since she won her first as a teenager at the European Indoor Championships five years ago.
Werro's path to the final had been disrupted by a fall in the semi-final on Thursday; replays showed the left hand of France's Anais Bourgoin clipped Werro's right foot and she was later reinstated into the final. She ran on despite clutching her chest in pain as she jogged across the line, and the incident contributed to a congested 10-athlete final in Birmingham.
In the final, Hodgkinson allowed Werro to lead through the opening lap before attempting to move on the last bend, mirroring the tactic Werro used to pass her in Stockholm in June. Hodgkinson had beaten Werro twice during the indoor season, including when she won her first world title, but was overtaken by the European under-23 champion in the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm where Werro recorded the first sub-1:54 time since 1983.
Hodgkinson's silver was the British team's 10th medal in five days at their home championships. Earlier in the session Zharnel Hughes took silver in the men's 200m after being overtaken by Germany's Owen Ansah, who won in 19.95 seconds; Hughes, who led coming off the bend, was the world 100m bronze medallist in 2023.
World Championship gold is up for grabs next year.