Lausanne Diamond League: Werro wins 800m in 1:55.33 as Odira is seventh

Audrey Werro won the Lausanne Diamond League 800m in a meeting-record 1:55.33. Kenya’s Lilian Odira, the reigning world champion, finished seventh in 1:59.25 after struggling to stay with the leaders late in the race.

Werro appeared to be tiring during the closing metres, but held on as Femke Broeders-Bol launched a strong pursuit. The Belgian finished second in a national-record 1:55.41, while Ethiopia’s Saida Tsehaye completed the podium with a personal-best 1:56.92.

The victory continued a strong season for Werro. She began with an 800m silver medal at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Toruń, where she ran 1:56.64, before collecting Diamond League wins in Rabat, Stockholm and Paris. She also won the 800m at the Ostrava Golden Spike.

Her form has extended beyond the main event. Werro won the 600m in Biel in 1:22.85 and took a 400m victory in Fribourg in 51.33. At the Swiss Championships in Zürich, she won the 800m heat and final, as well as her 400m heat, before claiming European 800m gold in Birmingham in 1:54.81.

Odira had arrived in Lausanne with an impressive run of results. She was second at the Kip Keino Classic in April, then won the 400m, 800m and 1500m at the Athletics Kenya Prison Services Championships. She later placed third in Rabat, won the Kenyan Trials and took the Prefontaine Classic 800m in Eugene in 1:56.19.

The Kenyan also won her heat and semi-final at the XXIII Commonwealth Games in Glasgow before earning 800m silver in the final in 2:00.58. Her seventh-place finish in Lausanne was therefore a difficult end to a period that had included several major victories and a championship medal.