Hodgkinson, Odira withdrawals boost Werro at Zurich Diamond League

Audrey Werro’s chances of winning the women’s 800m at Thursday’s Zurich Diamond League meeting have improved significantly after withdrawals by Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and reigning world champion Lilian Odira. Werro has remained unbeaten outdoors this season and now faces a much-reduced field in Switzerland.

Hodgkinson was due to meet Werro for the first time this season in a race that was expected to bring together several leading 800m athletes. The British runner said her body had not recovered sufficiently from the European Championships, prompting her team to skip the Zurich meeting and focus on her next race.

Odira also withdrew on Monday. The Kenyan, who finished seventh in Lausanne last week, said illness after the Glasgow Commonwealth Games had disrupted her preparation. She later felt weaker and, after receiving medical advice, decided that racing in Zurich would not be sensible.

Werro has already beaten Hodgkinson this month, taking European gold in Birmingham and denying the Briton a third straight title in the event. She then edged Femke Broeders-Bol at last week’s Diamond League meeting in Lausanne. Broeders-Bol, who won European bronze, had also been listed for Zurich.

The Swiss athlete was scheduled to face Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell as well as Hodgkinson and Odira. Hunter Bell, the Commonwealth Games champion, chose the 1,500m rather than the 800m at the European Championships and won that event comfortably. With the strongest challengers absent, Werro carries the clearest form into the race.

Her season has included the third-fastest 800m time in history and the fastest mark since the world record was set 43 years ago. Zurich is the final regular Diamond League meeting before the season-ending finals in Brussels on September 4 and 5, giving Werro an important opportunity to strengthen her position before the series reaches its conclusion.