Women’s 800
The women’s 800 is arguably the hottest ticket in town. Earlier this year, Keely Hodgkinson broke the World Indoor 800m record, but Keely has been suffering from injuries this summer. However, we understand she will be in the World Ultimate next weekend. Audrey Werro, only 22, has been running sensational times and winning all 12 of her outdoor 800m races this summer (apart from the trip at the European Champs). Then there is Femke Broeders-Bol, a legend at 400 m hurdles who switched to 800 m for a new challenge. Now that Femke has a Belgian husband, Brussels feels like a home race for her. At the pre-event press conference, she admitted she was surprised by how fast she was already running at the new distance.
The Diamond League final, again without Keely, was set up with Werro as favorite and everyone wondering how close Broeders-Bol could get. Werro was taking no prisoners and went into an early lead for a game of “catch-me if you can”. No one could, but Broeders-Bol fell short by only 0.06 seconds. The final result was:
1 Audrey Werro 1:54.75
2 Femke Broeders-Bol 1:54.81
3 Saida Tsehaye 1:57.57
Werro’s perspective on the race was: “It was a very similar race to the previous ones this season. I went out to the front and had fun, which was something I explicitly wanted to do during the last Diamond League of the year. I wanted to show that I have it in me to win a title. That personal challenge made this Diamond League Final my last big objective this season. I felt Femke Broeders-Bol putting me under pressure throughout the race, and that absolutely pushed me not to slow down. Her presence is a big source of motivation for me to stay sharp going into next year”.
She continued: “Femke was just behind me. I felt her just behind me. I think it also pushed me to keep the pace and go faster and faster. In general, I think it’s also a great thing to have strong adversity because it showed me that I should not stay in my comfort zone and I should continue training so this is really great in general”.
Broeders-Bol, always positive after races, said: “I got really close this time to beat Audrey and to win, so I’m even a little bit frustrated, a little bit frustrated when you get that close, but I think frustrated in a very good way. However, I can’t be anything other than happy with my performance. Running 1.54 and finishing second in the Diamond League Final is really above my expectations. Now I’m looking forward to running in Budapest, but I believe that will be a completely different type of race. We will see how it goes”.
Femke also explained her preferred race tactics: “In all honesty, I wanted to be in front, but I felt that within the first 50 meters Audrey was really going for it. While my coach and I prefer to be in front, if you’re not in front, we try it from the back, so I decided to run from the back today. I’m happy that I still ran a really good race”
Werro was asked what she had learned about herself this season – a great question: “I think I learned that I can manage a lot of things, a lot of pressure and I can run just fast and be consistent with those fast times and this is the most important thing. Going forward, I need to try to be consistent like this year with those times, and I hope I can just go a little bit faster.
“It gives me confidence because it showed that I’m able to run fast and to be consistent with times. It was not just a day of chance. So for me, this is the most important thing. I’m really happy to be able to run fast, and do it multiple times.
The sport is blessed to have two (three with Keely) young women with great talent and people who are ready to engage with the press.
