That was a great race and it will motivate me more in training.
Werro won in 1:53.98, the fastest time globally this year, while Hodgkinson's British record of 1:54.33 wasn't enough to secure victory. Hodgkinson, competing in her first outdoor 800m race this season, remains focused on her world record target despite the unexpected loss.
- Audrey Werro won in 1:53.98, the third-fastest women's 800m time ever
- Keely Hodgkinson ran 1:54.33, a new British record, but finished second
- Werro improved her personal best by more than one second
- Hodgkinson was competing in her first outdoor 800m race of the season
Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson ran a personal best at Stockholm's Diamond League but was defeated by Swiss athlete Audrey Werro, who set the third-fastest women's 800m time ever.
Keely Hodgkinson ran faster than she ever has in the 800 meters on Sunday in Stockholm, but it was not fast enough. The Olympic champion from Britain clocked 1:54.33, a new British record, yet still finished second at the Diamond League meet. Audrey Werro, a 22-year-old Swiss runner, took the race in 1:53.98—the third-fastest women's 800m time in history and the quickest anyone has run the distance this year. American Roisin Willis rounded out the podium in third.
For Hodgkinson, the loss stung in part because of what she had been building toward. The 24-year-old had set her sights on the world record this season, and she had already smashed the indoor mark back in February. This was her first outdoor 800m race of the year, and she had come to Stockholm confident in her form. Yet Werro's performance was genuinely stunning—the Swiss runner had improved her personal best by more than a second, having previously run 1:56.64.
The race itself unfolded with Werro seizing control from the start. She ran the opening lap in 55.54 seconds, setting a brisk pace that forced Hodgkinson to chase. With 300 meters left, Hodgkinson moved to the front, but as they rounded the final bend onto the home straight, Werro surged past her and held on to the line. In the immediate aftermath, Hodgkinson spoke with the measured respect of a competitor who had been outrun on the day. "When Audrey went off I was like 'just chill', but massive respect to her," she said. "That was a great race and it will motivate me more in training to make sure that doesn't happen again."
Hodgkinson acknowledged the unusual circumstances of her preparation. She had competed in the 400 meters just two days earlier, finishing seventh, and was still in the process of shifting her training focus back to the 800. "I was a little bit apprehensive coming in, not quite knowing exactly where I was with the 800m," she explained. "But it makes me excited because I can build on this great start. It's still very early." She noted that despite the loss, she had made sound tactical decisions during the race itself. Her next outings will come in Eugene and then at the Diamond League meet in London on July 18, where she will have another chance to chase down the world record.
Stockholm also delivered an upset in the pole vault, where Armand Duplantis, the Olympic and world champion, suffered his first Diamond League defeat in three years. The 26-year-old Swedish star, who had broken the world record for the 15th time just three months earlier with a jump of 6.31 meters, could only manage 5.80 meters on Sunday. Australia's Kurtis Marschall won with 5.90 meters. Duplantis attributed his poor performance to a lack of focus, though he framed it with unusual perspective: he is getting married next week, and he suggested there was perhaps a message in the timing. "We have a saying in Sweden that says you are either lucky in games or in love," he said, "and in some strange way I think there's some message or silver lining in this that says something about the commitment that I am about to make in my marriage."
Elsewhere in Stockholm, there were victories for the home crowd. Daniel Stahl, Sweden's world champion in the discus, won with a throw of 69.60 meters, edging Australia's Matthew Denny at 69.02 meters. Britain's Lawrence Okoye finished eighth with 64.02 meters. In the women's 100 meters, Amy Hunt of Britain ran a personal best of 10.97 seconds but had to settle for second place behind America's Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. Dina Asher-Smith, another British sprinter, finished sixth in 11.24 seconds.
The meet saw several other notable performances across the middle distances and field events. Tunisia's Marwa Bouzayani set a meeting record in the women's 3000 meters steeplechase with 8:59.28, with Britain's Elise Thorner nearly 12 seconds back in second. The Netherlands' Jessica Schilder also set a meeting record in the women's shot put with 20.89 meters. In the men's 800 meters, American Cooper Lutkenhaus won in 1:42.70, with Britain's Ben Pattison fourth in 1:43.70. For Hodgkinson, the focus now turns to the races ahead and the chance to prove that Sunday's defeat was merely a waypoint on the path to something greater.
Notable Quotes
When Audrey went off I was like 'just chill', but massive respect to her. That was a great race and it will motivate me more in training to make sure that doesn't happen again.— Keely Hodgkinson
I felt I was pretty unfocused, not ready to compete at the top level. We have a saying in Sweden that says you are either lucky in games or in love, and in some strange way I think there's some message or silver lining in this.— Armand Duplantis, on his unexpected defeat in the pole vault
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Hodgkinson ran a personal best and still lost. How does that happen in elite athletics?
Werro was simply better that day. She ran the third-fastest time ever recorded at the distance. When you're competing at that level, the margins are measured in hundredths of a second. Hodgkinson's British record is genuinely fast—it's just that Werro's time was faster.
But Hodgkinson had been targeting the world record this season. Does this loss derail that?
Not necessarily. She's treating it as motivation rather than a setback. She's also still building back into outdoor racing after doing some 400-meter work. The real test comes in the next few weeks, in Eugene and London.
What about Duplantis? A world-record holder losing to someone who jumped nearly half a meter less?
That's genuinely shocking, but he was honest about it. He said he wasn't focused, wasn't ready to compete at his level. He's getting married next week. Sometimes life pulls your attention elsewhere, and elite sport punishes that immediately.
Do you think Hodgkinson will get another chance at Werro soon?
Almost certainly. They're both young, both improving. Werro just proved she belongs at the very top, but Hodgkinson has shown she can run faster than she did on Sunday. It's the beginning of a rivalry, not the end of Hodgkinson's season.
What does a loss like this actually teach an athlete?
Everything. Hodgkinson said she made the right tactical decisions but Werro was better. That's clarity. She knows what to work on, knows the pace she needs to hit, knows she's capable of it. Sometimes you need to lose to a faster runner to understand what's possible.