Audrey Werro: Chasing a 43-Year-Old World Record
BBC Sport reports on the pursuit of a world record by Audrey Werro, the European 800m champion.
Werro aims to dethrone Jarmila Kratochvilova, who set the record of 1:53.28 in 1983, a time that still stands despite allegations of systematic doping in Kratochvilova's home country, Czechoslovakia.
Werro, at 22, has shown remarkable improvement, achieving three of the 10 fastest 800m times in history this year. She ran 1:53.80 in Paris, inching closer to Kratochvilova's mark.
"The world record will fall one day," Werro predicts, though she admits she wasn't expecting to challenge it this year.
Key Points:
- Werro credits her university degree for allowing her to focus fully on athletics.
- Her mental toughness, developed over the past two years, is paying off.
- A unique celebration mimics her father's advice to channel a lion's spirit on the track.
- Femke Broeders-Bol of the Netherlands, a recent 400m hurdles world champion, will compete against Werro in Zurich.
- Broeders-Bol surprised herself with her rapid transition to the 800m this season.
Geogia Hunter-Bell, a previous world and Commonwealth medalist, is also scheduled to participate in the event.