Hodgkinson beaten to European gold by rival Werro

Keely Hodgkinson secured the silver medal in a highly anticipated women's 800m final at the European Championships in Birmingham, narrowly missing out on a third consecutive title to Switzerland's Audrey Werro. The event, held in front of a sellout crowd of 23,000 at Alexander Stadium, was expected to be a close contest between Hodgkinson, Werro, and Dutch runner Femke Broeders-Bol.

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Seeking to reassert her dominance in the event, Olympic champion Hodgkinson was roared on in pursuit of Werro by her home support but was unable to overhaul her new rival in the closing stages.

Despite strong support from the home crowd, Olympic champion Hodgkinson could not overtake Werro in the final stretch. Werro, who has become the fastest athlete in 43 years not holding the world record, delivered a powerful finish to claim her first major international title in a championship record time of one minute 54.81 seconds.

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Having this season become the fastest athlete since the world record was set 43 years ago, Werro finished strong to land her first major international title in a championship record one minute 54.81 seconds.

For the 24-year-old Hodgkinson, the silver medal marks her 12th senior international medal since her debut as a teenager. She finished with a time of 1:55.01 seconds. This result adds to the British team's tally of 10 medals over the five days of the championships.

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While not the medal Hodgkinson had hoped for, silver represented the 24-year-old's 12th senior international medal since she claimed her first as a teenager at the European Indoor Championships five years ago.

Earlier in the championships, Zharnel Hughes earned a silver medal in the men's 200m. Hughes, a bronze medallist in the 100m at the 2023 World Championships, led coming off the bend but was ultimately overtaken by Germany's Owen Ansah, who won in 19.95 seconds.

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Hughes, world 100m bronze medallist in 2023, led coming off the bend but was overhauled by Germany's fast-finishing Owen Ansah, who took victory in 19.95 seconds.