Audrey Werro wins 800m gold at European Athletics Championships
Switzerland's Audrey Werro beat defending favourite Keely Hodgkinson to claim the women's 800m title in the 2026 European Athletics Championships.
Key points
- Audrey Werro of Switzerland won the women's 800m gold medal at the 2026 European Athletics Championships.
- Keely Hodgkinson finished second, taking the silver medal.
- Werro had survived a fall earlier in the competition before reaching the final.
Why it mattersHodgkinson had been a leading figure in the women's 800m, making Werro's victory a notable result at a major continental championship. The outcome signals a competitive shift in European middle-distance running.
Switzerland's Audrey Werro defeated Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson to win the women's 800m gold medal at the 2026 European Athletics Championships, according to BBC Sport. Hodgkinson took the silver medal behind her Swiss rival.
The result marked a significant moment in the competition, with Hodgkinson — one of the leading names in the women's 800m — finishing second on the night. BBC Sport described the outcome in its headline as Hodgkinson taking silver "behind Swiss rival Audrey Werro."
Werro's path to the final was not without difficulty. BBC Sport reported that the Swiss runner was involved in a "nasty fall" during an earlier round but still progressed through to the final. Hodgkinson also advanced from the same stage of the competition.
Both athletes qualified for the final on 26 August 2026, the same date the final was held, according to the published reports. The full field and finishing times were not detailed in the available source material at the time of publication.
The story was still developing as of the sourced reports, and further details on margins of victory, official times and wider championship standings were not confirmed in the available material.
Reported by
- BBC Sport — European Athletics Championships 2026: Keely Hodgkinson takes 800m silver behind Swiss rival Audrey Werro · 2026-08-26
- BBC Sport — Hodgkinson into 800m final and Werro through despite nasty fall · 2026-08-26