Audrey Werro, a rival to Keely Hodgkinson, took a heavy tumble during the 800-metre semi-finals at the European Athletics Championships. Hodgkinson stormed to victory, safely booking her place in the final. Werro, however, failed to finish the race after losing her footing while in the lead, although she was later sent through after an investigation was launched.
Werro's fall and immediate aftermath
Werro appeared to catch her own leg from underneath her before crashing to the ground, holding her abdomen in pain. The Swiss runner looked breathless as she tried to compose herself, but she was eventually able to climb to her feet.
Speaking to the BBC after the incident, she said: "I was feeling really great until the last moment but unfortunately something happened and I was on the ground one second after. I hope I'll be qualified for the final, I hope I'll be able to go (to the final)."
Appeal and qualification
An immediate investigation was launched, with Werro ultimately being awarded a place in the final after a successful appeal. When asked if she would appeal, Werro said: "Yes, this is the reason why. I finished the race and it's always important to go until the end. Now we will see what happens."
The 22-year-old track star is amongst Hodgkinson's main rivals in the 800m event and claimed silver at the 2026 World Indoor Championships and the gold medal at the European under-23 Championships in 2025.
Hodgkinson's reaction
Hodgkinson was also questioned about the unsavoury incident after the race. She said: "I heard an 'oooh' which is never a good sign. But I don't know what it looked like."
Asked if the fall changed her approach to the race, Hodgkinson said: "No, not at all. You can't worry about what other people are doing or what happens to them. Obviously it's a real shame. I hope she's okay and I hope she's in the final tomorrow, that would be a really exciting race. All round, happy for myself to go through."
When asked what she wanted to get from the semi-final, Hodgkinson said: "Nothing really, just to get through. I think it was a similar race to the heats because the depth is so good. Another 1:57. Overall I'm happy and can't complain. Yeah, the excitement makes me excited. I can't wait to step out there. I love a good challenge, I think it brings out the best in me. Hopefully it'll be a really good race and a clean race with no-one falling over tomorrow."
Radcliffe's verdict
Paula Radcliffe was also asked for her verdict on Werro's fall and said: "Thankfully I haven't had to experience that, moving at that pace and falling that hard. Every distance athlete knows that if that happens, you have to get up and finish. That is the only criteria in which you're going to make it through. If you don't do that, there's no chance of being advanced through to that final. So she would have known that. But to go down that hard and wind yourself, you could see she wasn't comfortable, but she was getting to that line."
