Audrey Werro nears 800m world record as two new marks set at Diamond League
Audrey Werro, the European champion, came close to breaking the long-standing outdoor world record in the 800m event at the Zurich Diamond League. Werro finished just over four-tenths of a second shy of Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 800m mark of one minute 53.28 seconds, a record that has stood for 43 years. Despite the strong effort, Werro clocked 1:53.70, making it the third-fastest time in history and improving her personal best by another tenth of a second.
The Swiss athlete was supported by a capacity crowd of 25,000 in Zurich, with infield pacing lights set for a world record attempt. Werro noted that while she saw the light indicating the record pace, there was considerable movement during the race, which affected her rhythm. She expressed pride in consistently running sub-1:54 times, viewing it as a positive sign for her future performances.
Werro has demonstrated consistent improvement throughout her career, particularly after focusing solely on track following the completion of her studies. She now holds four of the top-10 all-time 800m times, all achieved during the current summer season.
The event also highlighted the growing competition for Britain’s Olympic champion, Keely Hodgkinson. Hodgkinson, who withdrew from the Zurich meeting after securing continental silver behind Werro in Birmingham, faces challenges from both Werro’s strong form and the impressive debut of Femke Broeders-Bol in the 800m.
Broeders-Bol, the world 400m hurdles champion, has transitioned to the two-lap event this season and delivered another notable performance. The Dutch athlete initially set the pace and recorded a new national record of 1:54.71. She finished ahead of Hodgkinson’s training partner and Commonwealth 800m champion, Georgia Hunter-Bell, who placed third with a time of 1:55.03.
Broeders-Bol’s distinctive long stride and sprint speed have already made an impact in the 800m, and she is rapidly developing her tactical understanding as she adapts to middle-distance racing. She expressed surprise at her quick success in reaching sub-1:54 times in her first season in the event, having anticipated needing more time to achieve such results.
With less than two years remaining until Hodgkinson defends her Olympic title in Los Angeles, the emergence of new rivals like Werro and Broeders-Bol presents a significant challenge. Hodgkinson, along with Werro and Broeders-Bol, has qualified for the Diamond League final in Brussels, scheduled for 4-5 September, which is expected to provide an important benchmark for the end of the season.
New World Records Set
While Werro’s attempt at the 800m world record fell short, the night saw two new world records established. Brazil’s Alison dos Santos unexpectedly broke the 400m hurdles world record. Despite being undefeated in the event this season, there was little indication that Karsten Warholm’s 2021 mark of 45.94 seconds was at risk.
However, Dos Santos, a Tokyo 2025 silver medallist, surged past Warholm, who finished a distant second, to clock 45.80 seconds. This performance significantly lowered his previous personal best of 46.29 seconds, which was set four years ago.
Just 75 minutes after Dos Santos’s achievement, another world record was broken before the 25,000 spectators. Olympic champion Masai Russell of America set a new mark in the 100m hurdles, which was less surprising given her consistent performances near the previous record. Russell had finished within a tenth of a second of Tobi Amusan’s 12.12-second landmark on five occasions over the past two seasons.
Russell celebrated her 12.09-second clocking, which also marked a new Diamond League record and meeting record, as the crowd erupted. Amusan, the previous record holder, finished second with a season-best time of 12.23 seconds. The Nigerian, who had held the world record for four years, produced her fastest time of the season, finishing ahead of the Netherlands’ Nadine Visser, who clocked 12.34 seconds for third place.
Russell’s performance, achieved with no wind assistance, ended Amusan’s historic reign at the top of the event but also highlighted Amusan’s return to form ahead of the Diamond League Final in Brussels next month. Amusan remains a three-time Diamond League champion and is expected to compete against Russell again on major stages.
Other Notable Performances
In other events, Amy Hunt, who won four golds at the European Championships earlier this month, faced strong competition in the 100m. She watched as Olympic champion Julien Alfred handed Melissa Jefferson-Wooden her first defeat over the distance in two years, with Alfred edging out the American in a 10.70-second photo finish.
David Rudisha’s 800m world record of one minute 40.91 seconds, set during his gold medal run at London 2012, remained intact. His Kenyan compatriot, Emmanuel Wanyonyi, completed the race in one minute 41.76 seconds. Additionally, Sweden’s Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis, despite competition from Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, was unsuccessful in three attempts to improve his own pole vault world record to 6.32m.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who is scheduled for a highly anticipated duel with Britain’s Josh Kerr at the inaugural Ultimate Championships on 11-13 September, finished fifth in a 1500m race that was won by American Olympic champion Cole Hocker.
Source: bbc.com
