The seventh Memorial Irena Szewińska meet in Bydgoszcz, Poland, proved an exciting night overall, but specifically for the 800 metre event.
Audrey Werro
Swiss athlete Audrey Werro ran to a terrific new national record in the 800m event.
Werro bettered her own national record with a 1:57.25 performance. It was a half-second improvement on her previous record of 1:57.76 from her run in Bellinzona in 2023. The 20-year-old defeated Morocco’s Assia Raziki, who clocked in at 1:59.79, while Margarita Koczanova of Poland, who clipped under two for the first time with her run of 1:59.94.
Last week in Rabat, the 28-year-old, Raziki, ran her personal best of 1:58.49. It was her first time under two minutes. She spent a decade competing as a sprinter in the 100m and up to the 400m and performed well at the national level, however, it was her move to the 800m that put her into the international realm.
Two months ago, Werro set the national indoors or short track record in Nanjing, China at 1:59.81. The Swiss-born athlete from Friborg demonstrated her talent early, as she ran a 2:02.88 at age 17.
She finished second in that race, which happened to be the Swiss Championships. Werro set new national U18 records over the 400 and 800 metres that year.
Mark English
Ireland’s Mark English broke his national record with a commanding victory, finishing in the time of 1:44.34. Croatia’s Marino Bloudek recorded a 1:44.74 personal best, while Poland’s Filip Ostrowski was not far behind at 1:44.96 in a new personal best for third.
English is a 32-year-old veteran who currently holds several Irish records. In February this year, he clocked 1:45.15 for a national indoors record at the Millrose Games in New York. He was also a member of the 4 x 400m relay team that set the national record in Beijing during the 2015 World Athletics Championships.
English also holds the 500m and 600m national records. So, the eternal question is, is he a sprinter who has moved up in distance, or is he a distance runner using his aerobic engine to run well in the prolonged two-lap sprint?
