Audrey Werro holds off Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson to win European 800m gold

Swiss runner sets 1:54.81sec championship best

Femke Broeders-Bol secures bronze in 1:55.54

When Audrey Werro was a child, she was so painfully shy that her father told her she had to become a lion every time she raced. In a European women’s 800m final for the ages, she followed that advice to the letter.

As the 22-year-old Swiss superstar came around the final bend, she could feel Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson on her shoulder, waiting to strike. The Dutch flyer Femke Broeders-Bol was also close enough to dream too. But Werro was ready to flash her teeth.