Audrey Werro broke the Swiss 800m record on home soil at the Gala Dei Castelli in Bellinzona, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting, on Monday (9) evening.
- Full results here
Still only 20, the two-time European U20 champion kicked past Addison Wiley from the United States with just under 200 metres to go to take the victory on home soil in 1:57.76 to eclipse the previous Swiss record of 1:57.95 set by the now-related Selina Buchel in 2015.
Werro won by almost one-and-a-half seconds from Wiley in 1:59.23 with Olympic 800m finalist and multiple European medallist Renelle Lamote from France third in 2:00.09.
In the 110m hurdles, France’s Sasha Zhoya handed world and Olympic champion Grant Holloway only his second defeat of the season either indoors or outdoors, out-dipping his good friend and sometimes training partner for a notable victory by 0.01 in 13.22.
There were also French victories in Bellinzona for reigning European champion Gabriel Tual who won the men’s 800m by over a second in 1:43.98 ahead of the Irish duo of Luke McCann (1:45.33) and Mark English (1:45.56) while the rapidly improving French 400m hurdler Clement Ducos broke the 48 second-barrier again with 47.94 for victory in his specialist event.
Elsewhere, European champion Gianmarco Tamberi returned to winning ways in the high jump with a 2.27m clearance to beat fellow European medallist Oleh Doroshchuk (2.24m) and Sharlene Mawdsley, who anchored Ireland to a memorable victory in the mixed 4x400m in Rome, took the plaudits in the individual 400m in 51.35 ahead of Austrian record-holder Susanne Gogl-Walli (51.39) and European indoor silver medallist Lieke Klaver (51.42).
Steven Mills for European Athletics