The Swiss set the third-fastest time in history to beat the Olympic champion, while Cooper Lutkenhaus further underlined his talent with a victory beyond his years in Stockholm.
If ever there was a perfect example of how quickly those standards are rising in the 800m, it was on Sunday night (June 7) at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm, which produced remarkable results in both the women’s and men’s races.
Given her form so far in 2026 and her much-publicised pursuit of the world record, Keely Hodgkinson breaking her own British record in 1:54.33 was no big shock. What drew admiration, however, was that the run was only good enough for second place as Switzerland’s Audrey Verreau clocked the third-fastest time in history at 1:53.98. She is the first woman in 43 years to run under 1:54.
On a night of surprises that included Mondo Duplantis’ first loss in the pole vault since 2023, it was another upset for the crowd at the Olympic Stadium. They had so much to take in as the sun shone and the drama unfolded on this most historic and atmospheric of stages.
Onlookers may also have witnessed the early stages of a great career. Cooper Lutkenhaus is only 17 years old, but he is a world indoor champion and has made it to the Diamond League with the greatest of ease.
Will racing in Europe for the first time in a top class field over 800m surprise him? Not a little. Yes, Olympic and world champion Emmanuel Vagnoni was absent, but the American teenager made his winning time of 1:42.70 routine as he eased his way past Paris silver medalist Marco Arrop, who finished second in 1:43.11.
Just as Maria Kratochvilova’s 1:53.28 is being eclipsed by the women of this generation, David Rudisha’s record of 1:40.91 from London 2012 is starting to become a likely target for men in the future.
It’s worth noting that this was Hodgkinson’s first 800m outdoors this year, and given that he opted to compete over 400m at the Rome Diamond League last week, training has looked a little different of late.
It’s also worth noting that last year’s European Under-23 champion Vero served notice of his potential, notably with a then-world-leading 1:56.56 at the Rabat Diamond League on May 31.
But with the pace lights on in 1:54.00 as the British Olympic gold medalist made his move to hit with around 300m to go in the Swedish capital, it seemed everyone was following a familiar script.
However, Verreau refused to go easy and with a closing speed that surprised both his rival and himself, hit the front to secure the most important win of his career so far. The final of the August 800m European Championship has already been beautifully designed.
“Big respect to Audrey. it was an incredible race from her and she helped me run faster today,” Hodgkinson said after the race, which also saw an impressive debut from young American Roisin Willis, who finished third in a PB of 1:57.56.
“I was happy that he pushed me throughout the race and then fought me to the line, but I won’t let that happen again. I didn’t expect it from him today and I thought he would come back to me at the end, but this kind of surprise is good for me and each other, and it’s really great for the event, it’s going much faster now.
“I still believe in myself. The world record remains my goal in London next month and I still believe I can do it.”
“I still need to process, I’m still in shock from this speech. When the paceman dropped out I decided to follow Keeley as long as possible and I gave it everything I had. It’s really crazy.”
As for Lutkenhaus, his ability to amaze continues. At 49.99, the field was halfway through, the men’s race was heating up nicely and, although Arrop decided to lead the charge, the American was comfortably in the lead. The U20 record holder’s motto for the year is to ‘send it in’ every time he runs and he duly did so to beat his Canadian opponent.
“I feel great,” said Lutkenhaus, whose European tour now moves to the Bislett Games in Oslo. “This was my first (outdoor) 800m race this season, so to win with such athletes I’m really happy.
“The race went exactly as I planned, I put myself in a good position with 200m to go and slowly moved up the field. Throughout the race I was focused on myself and didn’t worry too much about others. In terms of time, I’m happy, but mainly I wanted to win today.”
Algeria’s Slimane Moula was third in 1:43.41, while Britain’s World and Commonwealth medalist Ben Pattison clocked 1:43.70, the second time he has run under 1:44. It’s been an encouraging run, despite his insistence that “something isn’t clicking.”
More to follow…
