This Week In Track & Field: Audrey Werro Stuns Keely Hodgkinson With 3rd Fastest 800m All-Time; Cooper Lutkenhaus Wins Diamond League Debut, Yared Nuguse Gets His Swagger Back + Stockholm & Rome Recap
About this episode
Chris Chavez, Preet Majithia, and Mac Fleet unpack the best week of the 2026 outdoor season with Rome and Stockholm delivering back-to-back historic performances.
Discussed in this episode:
– Audrey Werro’s 1:53.98: The third-fastest woman in 800-meter history, only the third woman ever under 1:54, beats Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson (1:54.33 personal best, British record) in Stockholm. Historical context: the two women ahead of her — Kratochvílová (1:53.28, 1983) and Olizarenko (1:53.43, 1980) — are from countries that no longer exist and from the peak of the Eastern Bloc doping era. Many can regard Werro’s 1:53.98 as the de facto clean world record.
– Cooper Lutkenhaus wins the Stockholm men’s 800 in 1:42.7: Diamond League debut. 17 years old. Junior year of high school in Texas. Beats Marco Arop (1:43.11), the former world champion and fourth-fastest man in history.
– Mondo loses: First defeat since July 2023. 44-meet winning streak snapped
– Noah Lyles wins the Rome 100m in 9.88: Noah typically builds slowly in the 100, but 9.88 is early and good. Jordan Anthony faded to fourth after looking promising at 60m.
– Women’s 200 landscape: Gabby Thomas runs 21.7 at the Lone Star Grand Prix in College Station — third fastest of her career; ulien Alfred has already run 21.86 in Rome, beating Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (her first loss in over a year). MJW bounced back in Stockholm with a 100m win and 10.84. If Shericka Jackson stays healthy, she’s probably the pick.
– Tate Taylor, 19.97: The second American high schooler to break 20 seconds in the 200. Hear Preet’s full objection to the concept of high school records as a category
– Looking ahead: LA Grand Prix this weekend. NCAA Championships in Eugene — Mac’s pick is Simeon Birnbaum in the 1500, though Carter Cutting will be right there.
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Hosts: Chris Chavez | @chris_j_chavez + Preet Majithia | @preet_athletics + Mac Fleet | @macfleet
Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | @jasminefehr
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