Werro beats Hodgkinson again to win Ultimate 800m crown in Budapest
Audrey Werro beat Keely Hodgkinson again to win the 800m at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest.
The Swiss runner clocked 1 minute 55.88 seconds in the final on Saturday 12 September, with Britain's Olympic champion Hodgkinson second in 1:56.26. It was a repeat of their European final in August, and another warning of how far this rivalry has swung. BBC
Hodgkinson had to fight for that silver. She came off the final bend behind Femke Broeders-Bol, the Dutch two-time world champion over the 400m hurdles, then pushed past her on the home straight. Two laps. No hiding place. Hodgkinson held her form to the line.
Afterwards came the reason why second felt like something more. Hodgkinson revealed she tore her hamstring during that European 800m final, where she ran 1:55.01 to finish behind Werro. She missed the Diamond League meetings in Zurich and Brussels. She said it was "touch and go" whether she would even make Budapest.
That injury history runs deep. Repeat hamstring trouble limited her racing in 2025. She had already finished second to Werro in Lausanne before the Europeans. This time she arrived with almost no racing in her legs, just rehab and hope.
Werro, by contrast, arrived as the woman to beat. She beat Hodgkinson to the European title in August, with Broeders-Bol third that night too. Reuters
Her summer numbers explain why. She broke 1:54 three times in 2026, including 1:53.98 in Stockholm. That run was a Diamond League record and put her third on the women's 800m all-time list. World Athletics
Only two women have ever run faster. The world record still belongs to Jarmila Kratochvilova, 1:53.28 from 1983. It has survived for more than four decades. Werro is now the closest chaser in the modern era.
Hodgkinson's own year had started brilliantly. She won world indoor gold in Kujawy Pomorze in March in 1:55.30, a championship record, and broke the indoor 800m world record during the 2026 indoor season. World Athletics
Budapest was the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship, held from 11 to 13 September with a total prize pot of $10m across three days. Hodgkinson earned $75,000 for second place.
What makes this stand out is the sound of it. Hodgkinson is a front-runner at her best, all rhythm and control. Here she was hanging on, listening for footsteps, timing one late pass. She did not win. She stayed in the race when her season could easily have ended in August.
