Hodgkinson runs her fastest-ever 800m - but still finishes second

Athletics News

Keely Hodgkinson ran her fastest-ever 800m time on Sunday - but astonishingly still finished second at the Diamond League in Stockholm.

After Hodgkinson finished seventh in the 400m in Rome on Thursday, the Olympic champion was back in her favoured event but was stunned into second place by Audrey Werro.

The Swiss runner finished first with a time of one minute 53.98 seconds - the third-fastest women's 800m in history and the quickest in 2026.

Hodgkinson and Werro raced away from the field in Stockholm, but the British athlete was unable to keep the pace with her rival despite a British record time of 1:54.33.

"It was a quick one, a really interesting race," Hodgkinson said.

"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."

She added: "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."

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Sky Sports' Geraint Hughes gets exclusive access to a remarkable Keely Hodgkinson training session Sky Sports' Geraint Hughes gets exclusive access to a remarkable Keely Hodgkinson training session

There were other surprises in Stockholm with pole vault star Armand Duplantis suffering a shock loss to Kurtis Marschall after he failed to clear 6.05m.

It was the first time in 40 events that the Swede had not been victorious.

Earlier in the day there was a personal best for British runner Amy Hunt in the 200m, but she finished second behind world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.