Seoul Gazette - Lion queen Werro focused on Euro medal, not 800m world record

Werro has run the world's fastest time this year, becoming the first woman to dip under 1:54 since 1983, when Kratochvilova, of the then-Czechoslovakia, timed 1min 53.28sec.

The Swiss clocked 1:53.98 to win at the Stockholm Diamond League, ahead of Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson.

Werro then bettered that in Paris to 1:53.80, edging ever closer to Kratochvilova's long-standing and often-contested mark.

When asked if the record could be broken, Werro replied: "I don't know.

"Now it's the European championships, and I don't think it's the best place to do a world record because the goal is to win a medal.

"So I don't know if the race will be fast or it will be a tactical race.

"I don't have the world record now in my head. My goal for the European championships is to do a podium. So this is just my goal for now."

Britain's Hodgkinson, the darling of British media after storming to Olympic gold in Paris two years ago, leads a stacked field in the two-lap race.

Also competing will be Dutchwoman Femke Broeders-Bol, the two-time 400m hurdles world champion busy transforming herself into a 800m specialist.

If the race is a tactical one, it would take a brave pundit to rule out Broeders-Bol, known for her devastating turn of pace with the finish line in sight.

- Great density -

"Right now we really have a great density on the 800m," Werro said Sunday on the eve of the August 10-16 champs in the English city of Birmingham.

"For me it's really cool because it's better when we are a lot of athletes.

"It pushes us to be great every day. I really like that because, like that, I think it's easier to achieve a really fast time because we can push each other until the end of the race."

Werro also revealed what was behind her roaring celebrations in victory.

"When I was younger, like maybe 12 years old, my father used to tell me before the race, I have to be a lion, and I should not be shy because I was really shy as a child," she said.

"So it was from there... the sign of a lion."

The 800m will undoubtedly be one of the most hotly-contested events in Birmingham.

Hodgkinson improved her own British record to 1:54.33 behind Werro in Stockholm in June. She then went on to win the London Diamond League.

Hodgkinson had broken the 24-year-old world indoor record in Lievin in February before claiming a first world indoor title in March.

Two weeks later, Hodgkinson pulled out of the 400m final at the British championships, complaining of "a little twinge" moments before the race.

After Werro improved her best time to 1:53.80 in Paris, Hodgkinson went to Eugene, but came in second to world champion Lilian Odira having sustained injuries to both knees in a heavy training fall.

But the English runner also played down expectations of a tilt at the world record, saying it would be a blank slate in Birmingham, with the final scheduled for Friday at 2046 GMT.

"It'll probably be three rounds in three days, which is completely different," Hodgkinson said.

"There's be no pacing, times don't matter, it's all about championship racing and handling pressure."

Y.Ko--SG