Hodgkinson stunned by Werro despite personal best

Figure caption,

Werro causes shock in Stockholm as she beats Hodgkinson

Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson ran a personal best at the Diamond League in Stockholm but it was not enough to beat Audrey Werro.

The Swiss athlete stunned Hodgkinson by winning in a time of one minute and 53.98 seconds - the third fastest women's 800m time ever and fastest in the world this year.

Hodgkinson, competing in her first outdoor 800m race of the season, was narrowly behind in a British record of 1:54:33 while American Roisin Willis was third in 1:57:56.

There was also a shock for Armand Duplantis as the Swedish pole vault star suffered his first defeat in 40 events.

Hodgkinson has targeted the world record this year and the 24-year-old Briton smashed the world indoor record in February.

And although she ran her fastest 800m time since July 2024 - 1:54.61 at the Diamond League meeting in London - Werro took more than a second off her previous best (1:56.64).

The 22-year-old set the pace during a first lap of 55.54 seconds and although Hodgkinson hit the front with 300m remaining, Werro cruised past her just after they turned onto the home straight.

"It was a quick one, a really interesting race," said Hodgkinson. "When Audrey went off I was like 'just chill', but massive respect to her. That was a great race and it will motivate me more in training to make sure that doesn't happen again."

Hodgkinson finished seventh in a rare outing over 400m on Thursday and plans to compete over 800m in Eugene before the Diamond League meeting in London on 18 July.

"I was a little bit apprehensive coming in, not quite knowing exactly where I was with the 800m, because we have been doing some 400 training and are going to put together the 800m now," she added.

"But it makes me excited because I can build on this great start. It's still very early. It's good to have a run in your legs because you can learn what you can do better but overall I am quite happy with that race because I made the right decisions, but Audrey was just better on the day."

Figure caption,

Duplantis is beaten in the Diamond League for the first time in three years

Meanwhile, Olympic and world champion Duplantis suffered his first Diamond League defeat in three years.

In March, the 26-year-old broke the world record for the 15th time, with a jump of 6.31m slightly north of Stockholm in Uppsala.

But the best he could muster on Sunday was 5.80m, second to Australia's Kurtis Marschall (5.90m).

"I felt I was pretty unfocused, not ready to compete at the top level," said Duplantis, who is getting married next week. "I feel bad for my fans and family but I am not that mad.