Audrey Werro wins women's 800m gold in Birmingham; championship record 1:54.81

Audrey Werro wins women’s 800m gold in Birmingham; championship record 1:54.81

2026 European Athletics Championships: Audrey Werro’s golden moment ahead of Keely Hodgkinson’s silver: “Today was my day”

One of the most anticipated events of the year saw Swiss 22-year-old Audrey Werro come away with gold on Friday (14 August) night on day five of Birmingham 2026. The gold and silver medallists react to a dramatic evening.

The triptych tale of the women’s 800 metres race at the 2026 European Athletics Championships had its conclusion under the Friday night lights of Birmingham - and the celebration of a lion in Audrey Werro .

The 22-year-old ran a championship-record time of 1:54.81 to see her past home favourite and silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson , and Femke Broeders-Bol ’s first international 800m medal with bronze.

“I think everyone knows I deserved my chance,” Werro said after winning her maiden European Championship medal. “I’m so happy, there’s a lot of emotion. I tried to take all this energy with me.

“I knew I was the strongest if I went in front from the start, so I decided that was my best card and played it. I decided to give it my all, and today was my day .”

Highlighted by many athletics fans as one of the events of the summer, in front of a sellout crowd, three of the fastest women to grace the event – Werro, Hodgkinson and Broeders-Bol – lived up to the hype.

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 14: Gold medalist Audrey Werro of Team Switzerland poses for a photo with the results board after setting a new Championship Record with 1:54.81 after victory in the Women’s 800 Metres Final during day five of the 27th European Athletics Championships at Alexander Stadium on August 14, 2026 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Maja Hitij

Getty Images for European Athletics)

The trio’s compelling differences in each of their rhythms, cadence, and style that have fascinated the build-up to Friday’s final were on display in Birmingham.

The characteristic composure of Werro – compounded by her fall and subsequent reinstatement in the semi-final – has found her with heightened expectations since she beat Hodgkinson in Stockholm earlier this year.

In Birmingham, with an urgent Hodgkinson threatening a late 100m surge to the finish, her composure paid off.

“I knew I could run the race 100 per cent in the lead,” Werro explained. “I wanted to see if the others wanted to go and be in front, but after a while I decided to take that role and go faster every 100m.

“I saw in the corner of my eye (Hodgkinson) was there, but I still had energy in my legs. I had a little moment when I crossed the line that I was in first place, that I was the top of Europe .”

Keely Hodgkinson on silver at Birmingham 2026: “Sport can be brutal”

Facing the favoured Olympic champion on her home turf, with the driving force of Hodgkinson’s swells of energy on the home straight, the odds may have looked to swing in the Brit’s favour.

“It just wasn’t enough today,” Hodgkinson concluded. “It’s part of the job sometimes in sport; you can want it so much and the brutal part is that it might not be enough . I wish it was gold, simply put.

“But overall, I’m happy and I think we’ll get there. It’s good to be a part of the rivalry; there are always new people coming along, and you don’t know when someone will have a breakthrough. I’m going to try my best to stay up there and continue to fight and add more medals to my collection.”

Audrey Werro: “I’ve started to reach my goals”

Werro’s breakout season came only last year, when she won the Zurich Diamond League. The year prior, while Hodgkinson took Olympic gold, the Swiss was eliminated in the qualifying rounds.

Two years later, she has shaved over two seconds off her time, become the third-fastest woman in the history of the event, and put herself firmly in the conversation of global dominance she had previously never been a part of.

“All the hard work I’ve been doing these last few years I tried to take with me in the last 100m,” Werro said.

“I’ve started to reach my goals, I am just so happy with my first European title.”

Getty Images for European Athletics

Athletics | European Championships | Birmingham | United Kingdom