By Chris Chavez
July 23, 2023
World championship silver medalist Femke Bol has solidified herself as the gold medal favorite for next month’s world championships in Budapest after running 51.45s for the third-fastest 400m hurdles performance in history.
What you need to know:
– Bol’s win in London set a personal best, Diamond League record and European record. She won the race by 2.3 seconds ahead of Jamaica’s Janieve Russell. U.S. champion Shamier Little was third in 53.76.
– Bol lowered her own personal best by more than half a second. She entered the day with a PB of 52.03 from the Tokyo Olympics.
– Only Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s 50.68 and 51.41 world record-setting runs from 2022 are faster.
– Bol becomes the third woman to break 52 seconds after McLaughlin-Levrone and Dalilah Muhammad.
– Earlier this year, Bol talked about how she was testing out a new 14-step racing pattern in the hurdles
What she said afterward:
Femke Bol (via Diamond League Flash Quotes): “I cannot believe it yet. To be honest I felt really good at some points in the race, I tried not to think about the goal. I felt so strong coming over the last hurdle so I'm really happy.
I've been wanting to run a 51 ever since Tokyo, I had a feeling I could do it but I still can't believe I've done it. I hope we can put up a great race at the World Championships and put on a great show, I hope I'm in even better shape than I am now. There's always room to improve but for now, I'm going to enjoy this.”
What comes next:
Bol is the world championship favorite after McLaughlin-Levrone has opted to run the flat 400m at the world championships. Bol is looking for her first world championship gold medal. She has two silver medals from last year’s 400m hurdles and mixed 4x400m relay. She is also the Olympic bronze medalist.
The first round of the women’s 400m hurdles is set for Monday, Aug. 21. The semifinal will be contested on Tuesday, Aug. 22 before the final takes place on Thursday, Aug. 24.
Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
