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 champion, who chose to switch events this season, crossed the line first in 1:59.96.

Hodgkinson’s post-race interview with BBC Sport was briefly interrupted by Italy’s Eloisa Coiro, who said the 24-year-old was “an inspiration on and off the track”.

Hodgkinson, who has had a couple of setbacks during her outdoor campaign, said: “I have worked so hard and the shape has been there all year. It’s just been an unfortunate couple of events that have led to me maybe being a little bit off.

“Championships are a fresh start. That felt very good, very comfortable. The standard has gone up but it’s good, it brings out the best in me.

“All it takes is one person to raise the bar and you think more things are possible. Everyone knows that to keep up you have to keep getting better. It’s a really exciting time for the women’s 800m.”

Watching at Alexander Stadium, former Olympic and world long jump champion Greg Rutherford told BBC TV: “What I found fascinating about all three of the big names out there was that they made it look so much easier than the rest of the field.

“It’s so easy for them, it is remarkable to see. It sets it up for such a good race going forward.”

Werro, who took world indoor silver behind Hodgkinson in March, has run three of the nine fastest women’s 800m times in history during a superb, unbeaten outdoor season.

The 22-year-old’s best of 1:53.80 is the third-fastest of all time, while Hodgkinson is also closing in on Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 1983 world record of 1:53.28 after improving her British record to 1:54.33 in finishing behind Werro in Stockholm in June.

Discussing the standard of the event after her heat, Werro said: “I think it’s really great because we can really push each other. We are really fast and I’m excited for what is coming next.”

Rutherford said: “Championships are all about medals. Records will always be broken eventually, but if you win a medal that lasts forever.

“But it is set up. The three best in the world here in Europe is an opportunity to break things like world records. It is the closest we’re going to have.”