Pakistan, Aug. 12 -- Keely Hodgkinson and expected gold medal rivals Audrey Werro and Femke Broeders-Bol remain on course for their highly anticipated showdown after safely reaching Thursday's women's 800m semi-finals at the European Athletics Championships.

Olympic champion Hodgkinson, winner of the past two European titles, controlled her heat throughout to win in one minute 57.28 seconds - the fastest time across the four heats on Tuesday morning. Swiss athlete Werro, who stunned Hodgkinson by running the fastest time for 43 years to beat the Briton earlier this season, appeared equally comfortable as she won her race in 1:57.83. There were no issues either for Femke Broeders-Bol. The fast-improving Dutch two-time world 400m hurdles c...