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Werro outguns Hodgkinson to win women's 800m at Ultimate / Photo: © AFP
Werro outguns Hodgkinson to win women's 800m at Ultimate
Newly-minted European champion Audrey Werro kept her nerve to outgun rivals Keely Hodgkinson and Femke Broeders-Bol for victory in the 800m at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest on Saturday.
In-form Swiss Werro, unbeaten this season, clocked 1min 55.88sec in a dominant gun-to-tape display, with Britain's Olympic champion Hodgkinson taking second in 1:56.26.
Broeders-Bol, in her first season as she transitions from the 400m hurdles -- an event in which she was twice a world champion, rounded out the podium.
Werro raced out into the lead, Broeders-Bol on her shoulder and Hodgkinson in third.
The 22-year-old Swiss champion, who was crowned continental champion at last month's European championships in Birmingham, went through the bell in 57.84sec for the final lap.
With 200 metres to run, the three stand-out runners in the field broke away from the pack.
Hitting the home straight, Werro surged to give herself some breathing space, cruising through the line for a comfortable victory.
Hodgkinson overtook Broeders-Bol for second.
With Werro having gone third in the all-time list this season, there has been talk of her breaking the oldest record in track and field.
But there was no prospect of her of her rivals getting close to Jarmila Kratochvilova's long-standing world record of 1:53.28 on a chilly evening in Budapest.
P.Thomas--SFF
