Audrey Werro wins 800m European Championship gold with record time

Audrey Werro won the women’s 800m gold medal at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, setting a new championship record with a time of 1:54.81. The Swiss athlete secured her victory after a dramatic semi-final where she fell during the race but was reinstated following a successful protest.

Werro led the pace from the start, holding off Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, the reigning Olympic champion, who finished second with a time of 1:55.01. The podium was completed by Femke Broeders-Bol of the Netherlands, who took the bronze medal in 1:55.54, matching the Dutch national record.

The race was highly anticipated as a showdown between three of the world’s top middle-distance runners. While Hodgkinson expressed mixed emotions after losing her title defense, Werro’s performance marked a significant milestone in her career, breaking a championship record that had stood since 1982.