Hodgkinson vs Werro · Women's 800m Final · 2026

What does it take to come back from a heavy fall in the semi-finals and deliver the race of your life on the biggest stage? That question hung over lane nine before a single stride of this final was run. Audrey Werro, Keely Hodgkinson, Femke Broeders-Bol — a ten-woman field loaded with championship pedigree and nerves of steel. Hodgkinson, the defending champion, had blazed the fastest semi-final in championship history just the day before. Broeders-Bol, a former world champion at 400m hurdles, was an unknown quantity over two laps. And Werro? She had barely made it out of the semis in one piece.