Werro Eyes 43-Year-Old 800m World Record in Lausanne After Blazing 1:53.80 Breakthrough

Audrey Werro will take aim at one of athletics’ most enduring world records in front of her home crowd in Lausanne tonight, with the Swiss 800m sensation now just 0.52 seconds away from Jarmila Kratochvílová’s 43-year-old world record of 1:53.28.

Werro has transformed herself from a 1:57-level runner into the third-fastest woman in 800m history in remarkably quick time. Two years ago, she was running 1:57.76, but her progression has been spectacular, with the 22-year-old improving to 1:55-level performances in 2025 before exploding onto the world scene in 2026.

The Swiss star produced a stunning 1:53.98 victory in Stockholm in June before going even faster in Paris, clocking 1:53.80 to move within striking distance of Kratochvílová’s long-standing mark.

European Athletics confirmed that the Paris performance is the third-fastest 800m ever run.

That improvement means Werro has already broken the 1:54 barrier twice this season, an extraordinary achievement that has transformed the once seemingly untouchable world record into a realistic target.

Kratochvílová set the 1:53.28 world record in Munich on July 26, 1983, and it remains the longest-standing world record in outdoor athletics. Werro therefore needs to find just over half a second on her personal best to become the first woman in more than four decades to erase the Czech legend’s mark.

Her confidence has been strengthened by a remarkable season that has also seen her defeat Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson to win the European 800m title in Birmingham last week.

Werro ran a championship-record 1:54.81 to beat Hodgkinson’s 1:55.01, completing a remarkable recovery after falling in her semi-final.

Now, with her family and friends expected to be in the stands in Lausanne, Werro insists she will not allow the world-record possibility to overwhelm her.

‘I don’t want to put pressure on myself about this world record,’ she said. ‘First and foremost, I want to have fun.’

But she knows the ingredients for a historic performance could be in place, particularly with a good pacemaker and favourable conditions.

‘The race could go very fast even without Keely Hodgkinson if the conditions are good and the pacemaker does her job well,’ she said at the pre-race press conference on Thursday.