Keely Hodgkinson was again denied a major prize by rival Audrey Werro, revealing she had overcome a torn hamstring to make the start line at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship. Britain's Olympic 800m champion sustained the injury while competing in the European Championship final less than a month ago, when she was dethroned by 22-year-old Swiss sensation Werro. Hodgkinson was forced to miss Diamond League races in Zurich and Brussels, and said following her second-place finish in Budapest that it was "touch and go" whether she would be fit to compete at the sport's new global event.

Werro controlled Saturday's 800m race from start to finish, winning in one minute 55.88 seconds to underline her position as the event's current leading athlete. Despite her injury setback, Hodgkinson overtook Femke Broeders-Bol on the home straight for second in 1:56.26."On the outside, people might think I'm disappointed - but I'm actually quite proud of how I approached that," Hodgkinson told BBC Sport."When was Europeans? Four weeks ago. I unfortunately tore my hamstring during that race, so I didn't know if I was going to be here."Each time the leading women's 800m trio have met this season, it has been billed as one of the races of the year.

Each time, it has delivered enthralling action. Since beginning 2026 with a dominant indoor season in which she won world indoor gold and broke the indoor 800m world record, Hodgkinson has been second-best in meetings with Werro. Making remarkable progress in her first season as a full-time athlete, Werro continues to uncover what, increasingly, appears to be potential of history-making proportions since completing her university studies.

Forty-three years had passed since a woman had run a sub-1:54 800m before this season. Werro achieved that three times this summer to close in on Jarmila Kratochvilova's 1983 record of 1:53.28."Although not required to go as fast on this occasion, she showed her maturity by controlling the final before surging to victory."Although she missed out on the title, Hodgkinson, who will end her season at Athlos next weekend, pocketed $75,000 (£55,000) for her efforts. Athletes are competing for the biggest prize pot in the sport's history at the Ultimat Championship, with a total of $10m (£7.4m) on offer across three days of action.