Audrey Werro entered a new level of middle-distance running on Sunday, producing one of the greatest performances in athletics history at the Stockholm Diamond League. The 22-year-old Swiss star clocked a sensational 1:53.98 to win the women’s 800m, becoming the third-fastest woman ever over the distance and the first athlete in more than four decades to break the 1:54 barrier.
The time places Werro behind only world-record holder Jarmila Kratochvilova, who ran 1:53.28 in 1983, and Pamela Jelimo. Remarkably, Werro finished just 0.70 seconds outside a world record that has stood for more than 40 years.
For Swiss athletics, the achievement is historic. Werro lowered her own national record by an astonishing 1.93 seconds, moving from 1:55.91 to 1:53.98 in a single race and delivering one of the biggest moments the country has seen on the track.
A breathtaking race from start to finish
The Stockholm race unfolded at a relentless pace thanks to pacemaker Rachel Klopfenstein, the Jura-born athlete who now competes internationally for Mauritius. Klopfenstein guided the field through the opening lap in 55.54 seconds, creating the perfect conditions for a fast time.
Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson launched her challenge on the back straight and looked well positioned entering the final bend. But Werro responded brilliantly. The Swiss runner stayed on Hodgkinson’s shoulder before producing a devastating finishing kick over the final metres to claim victory.
Hodgkinson also produced a historic performance, setting a personal best of 1:54.33. The British star’s mark became one of the fastest ever recorded, yet she still could not match Werro’s finishing speed in Stockholm.
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Joining the sport’s all-time greats
According to World Athletics, Werro’s 1:53.98 immediately places her among the greatest 800m runners in history. Her performance moved ahead of several legendary names, including South Africa’s Caster Semenya, whose best of 1:54.25 had long stood among the fastest times ever run.
The breakthrough comes only weeks after Werro opened her Diamond League season with a victory in Rabat in 1:56.56, a result that even surprised the athlete herself. Stockholm confirmed that performance was no accident.
Breaking the 1:54 barrier for the first time since 1983 instantly places Werro among the most significant performances in modern athletics. Her run joins a growing list of headline-making record achievements that have captured attention across the sporting world, including the latest record-setting performances at the Enhanced Games 2026.
At just 22 years old, Audrey Werro has already secured her place in the history books. The question after Stockholm is no longer whether she can compete with the world’s best. It is how much faster she can still go.
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