Keely Hodgkinson, Audrey Werro and Femke Broeders-Bol each won their respective heats in the women's 800m at the European Athletics Championships on Tuesday, advancing to Thursday's semi-finals. Hodgkinson posted the fastest time across all four heats, finishing in one minute 57.28 seconds.
Hodgkinson, Werro and Broeders-Bol advance to 800m semi-finals at European Athletics Championships
Keely Hodgkinson, Audrey Werro and Femke Broeders-Bol each won their respective heats in the women's 800m at the European Athletics Championships on Tuesday, advancing to Thursday's semi-finals. Hodgkinson posted the fastest time across all four heats, finishing in one minute 57.28 seconds.
Hodgkinson, the Olympic champion and winner of the past two European titles, controlled her heat throughout. Werro, a Swiss athlete aged 22, won her heat in 1:57.83, while Broeders-Bol, a Dutch two-time world 400m hurdles champion who switched events this season, finished first in her heat in 1:59.96.
Werro ran the fastest women's 800m time in 43 years earlier this season to finish ahead of Hodgkinson in Stockholm in June, where Hodgkinson nonetheless improved her British record to 1:54.33. Werro's personal best of 1:53.80 is reportedly the third-fastest women's 800m time in history. Werro also took world indoor silver behind Hodgkinson in March and has run three of the nine fastest women's 800m times in history during her outdoor season.
Hodgkinson, who is 24, said after her heat that she had experienced setbacks during her outdoor campaign but described the championships as 'a fresh start,' adding that the heat had felt 'very good, very comfortable.' She also noted that the standard of the event had risen and said it was 'a really exciting time for the women's 800m.'
Hodgkinson's post-race interview with BBC Sport was briefly interrupted by Italy's Eloisa Coiro, who told Hodgkinson she was 'an inspiration on and off the track.'
Former Olympic and world long jump champion Greg Rutherford, watching at Alexander Stadium, told BBC television that all three leading athletes had made their heats look easier than the rest of the field. Werro said after her heat that the competitive standard was 'really great' because the athletes could 'really push each other.'
- The source does not establish the identities or finishing times of runners who qualified from the heats other than the three named athletes.
- The source does not confirm the specific nature of the setbacks Hodgkinson experienced during her outdoor campaign.
- The source does not state the total number of athletes competing in the heats or the qualification criteria for the semi-finals.
- The source does not confirm Jarmila Kratochvilova's nationality or any details about the 1983 world record beyond the time of 1:53.28.
- The source does not establish whether Broeders-Bol has previously competed at a European Athletics Championships.