Swiss Runner Posts Third-Fastest Women's 800m Ever

Audrey Werro stormed to victory in Paris with a time that brought her within striking distance of the most enduring record in all of track and field.

The 22-year-old Swiss runner clocked 1:53.80 in the women's 800m at the Diamond League meet, making it the third-fastest time anyone has ever run. She's now run three of the nine fastest 800m races in history in just the past three weeks.

The world record she's chasing belongs to Jarmila Kratochvilova, who set it on July 25, 1983. That's 42 years ago, the same week Elton John released "I'm Still Standing" in the UK. No one has come closer to breaking it than Werro and Britain's Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson.

Werro had promised before the race that she'd take her first real shot at the record. She tracked the pacemaker through halfway, then cut loose at the 600-meter mark. She was just outside world record pace but kept pushing to the finish line.

"It is not the world record but I am still really happy with my time," Werro said after the race. "I was a little bit late on the 600m mark. But next time I figure I can stay closer to the lights."

Why This Inspires

Werro's pursuit shows what's possible when young athletes dare to dream big. She won't race the 800m again until she faces Hodgkinson at the European Championships in Birmingham this August, setting up what promises to be an epic showdown.

"It is easier when I am in a race with other athletes at the same pace as me," Werro explained. "With Hodgkinson it is always easier to run fast. If the world record is still on in Birmingham I will try in Birmingham."

After 42 years, one of sport's most imposing records finally looks ready to fall.