Olympic champion signs herself up for re-match with Audrey Werro and Femke Broeders-Bol in Zurich as new rivalry fuels the middle-distance fire

The good news is that, for anyone impatient for the next installment of Audrey Werro v Keely Hodgkinson v Femke Broeders-Bol, they aren’t going to have long to wait. 

The newly-crowned European champion and the Dutchwoman had already been confirmed on the 800m start lists for the Zurich Diamond League meeting that takes place on August 27 but now the Olympic gold medallist will join them. 

Hodgkinson was barely off the track after finishing second to Werro’s championship record at the Alexander Stadium on Friday night when she was talking about what comes next, the fire of missing out on gold to the Swiss already in her belly. 

With Broeders-Bol proving herself to be an incredibly quick learner since her switch from the 400m hurdles, it would appear that we are at the start of a fascinating rivalry that could run and run. It’s an indication of how much she wants to be at the heart of the battle that Hodgkinson is sprinting towards it.

Asked if the defeat in front of her home crowd fuels her inner fire, the world indoor record-holder said: “It definitely does. I’ve been very motivated in training, and I do feel like I’m better than that [performance in the final]. But I don’t think I did anything wrong. 

“I signed myself up for Zurich because I knew everyone was in it but me. I really wanted to be in it. I’ve been doing this a long time – or it feels like a long time – and I want the excitement. I don’t want it to be easy.”

It’s true that, in Werro, Hodgkinson has come up against a formidable foe. The European under-23 champion’s performances this summer, from the moment she stunned the Briton and the watching world with her victory at the Stockholm Diamond League in 1:53.98 to make her the third-fastest woman in history, have been a revelation. 

Taking her personal best down to 1:53.80 in Paris soon afterwards proved it was no accident but, in Birmingham, it was the physical and mental strength of the Swiss that shone just as much as her speed. 

Firstly, there was the chaos of her painful-looking fall – and then reinstatement – in the semi-finals to deal with. Then, when it came to the final, she was unafraid to make the running in the blustery conditions before displaying stout defences that were strong enough to repel Hodgkinson’s closing attack. 

Silver was not what the world indoor champion had been looking for but she was also philosophical post-race. 

“I always try to tell myself – and what I tell other people as well – is that people don’t remember what you didn’t do; they remember what you did. And when you look back on my career, I’ve got so many medals now, and I’m really proud of that. 

“I think, in the moment, sometimes it can feel really big, and it feels like do-or-die or life or death. But it’s just what I trained to do. I’m happy to be doing that. I was healthy on the start line and I’m glad all three of us could come together and battle that out.”

Hodgkinson has not had fitness troubles to seek, however. There was the “twinge” that forced her to withdraw from the 400m final at the British Championships, then the fall during training that left her with bad cuts, bruising and swelling to her knees. 

She admitted that running with her legs heavily taped at the Prefontaine Diamond League soon after that incident was, with hindsight, perhaps not the best move. However, she also insisted that those injuries had had no impact on her European Championships performance. 

“I didn’t have any interruption in training,” she said. “I got some nasty scars. I sliced chunks out of my knees but, when I had the scans, there was actually no damage. It was just bruising, swelling, and the doctor was basically like, ‘How much pain can you take?’.

“On reflection, I probably shouldn’t have run in Eugene. But I didn’t miss any training. I’m in the shape of my life. I feel really good. I think it’s just championship racing, and that was the time today.”

It will be a very different environment in Zurich compared to championship racing, of course, but no less eagerly anticipated. A number of observers are already likening this three-way rivalry to the days when Seb Coe, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram dominated the middle distance headlines.

The three women are all very different characters, while Werro and Broeders-Bol are both significantly taller than Hodgkinson – meaning they all have different weapons to call upon.

“If I could stretch myself three more inches, I definitely would,” grinned Hodgkinson. “But I back myself completely. I think we’ll always be compared and what they can do, what I can do. 

“Everyone’s got different strengths and weaknesses, and it’s all about each of us figuring out how to run our best 800m and then doing it against each other; that is the hard part, and you just hope it goes your way on the day. But that makes it really exciting and I’m just happy to be able to be a part of it.”

So much so that there’s no time to waste before the rematch. 

“That’s why I signed up to Zurich,” added Hodgkinson. “I want to be in with the best, and I think that’s going to bring out the best in me. There’s no point in me going to a race and time trialing at the front. The more fun is when you’ve got everyone together and everyone’s going at it. You don’t know which way it’s going to go. 

“I hope everyone enjoys watching the level of athletes that we have because that’s difficult to come across in generations.”