Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson ran a personal best and improved the UK record, with her first outdoor 800 metre race of the season in Stockholm, Sweden, on Sunday. Yet was bettered by Swiss athlete Audrey Werro, 1:53.98 to 1:54.33.
Werro improved her own personal best and national record from 1:55.91. The nearly two-second improvement at the world-class level is remarkable.
Werro’s run is the fastest performance in four decades and the third-fastest women’s 800m all-time.
American Roisin Willis took third, well back in 1:57.56. The 21-year-old came into the race with a personal best of 1:57.97 from an indoor meet at Boston University in January this year.
Werro led for much of the first 500m of the race before Hodgkinson took over. The breeze was swirling, and the gap between Werro, Hodgkinson and the rest of the field widened. With 150m to go, Werro took over, and the two battled through the line; however, Werro eased a little at the finish.
The performances at the front of the field led to several fast times, even though the bulk of the competitors were out of contention for the podium.
One or both of these athletes should break the very old world record during the summer of 2026.
Werro is only 22 years old, Hodgkinson 24.
All-time women’s 800m performances
| Rank | Performance | Athlete | Country | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:53.28 | Jarmila KratochvÃlová | CZE | Munich | July 26, 1983 |
| 2 | 1:53.43 | Nadezhda Olizarenko | UKR | Moscow | July 27, 1980 |
| 3 | 1:53.98 | Audrey Werro | SUI | Stockholm | July 7, 2026 |
| 4 | 1:54.01 | Pamela Jelimo | KEN | Zurich | August 29, 2008 |
| 5 | 1:54.25 | Caster Semenya | RSA | Paris | June 30, 2018 |
| 6 | 1:54.33 | Keely Hodgkinson | GBR | Stockholm | July 7, 2026 |
| 7 | 1:54.44 | Ana Fidelia Quirot | CUB | Barcelona | September 9, 1989 |
| 8 | 1:54.60 | Caster Semenya | RSA | Monaco | July 20, 2018 |
| 9 | 1:54.61 | Keely Hodgkinson | GBR | London | July 20, 2024 |
| 10 | 1:54.62 | Lilian Odira | KEN | Tokyo | September 21, 2025 |
| 11 | 1:54.68 | Jarmila KratochvÃlová | CZE | Helsinki | August 9, 1983 |
| 12 | 1:54.74 | Keely Hodgkinson | GBR | Chorzów | August 16, 2025 |
Werro will be competing next at the Ostrava meet on June 16, followed by Paris on June 28 and finally Fribourg on July 1, 2026. Hodgkinson will look to break the world record this summer and is focusing on London on July 18. She will want to have Werro in that race to pull her along for the record attempt.
