World and European 400m hurdles champion cruises to victory indoors in Metz in her first 800m race.
Femke Bol’s much-anticipated 800m debut ended with a win in a Dutch indoor report of 1:59.07 in Metz, France, on Sunday (Feb 8) however her middle-distance operating capability is unlikely to have stuffed Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson or world champion Lilian Odira with concern. Not but anyway.
Bol, the reigning world and European 400m hurdles champion, received the race comparatively comfortably and dipped inside two minutes – the benchmark of 800m racing for ladies. However she appeared a bit of reluctant to observe pacemaker Anna Gryc by 400m in 56.66 and regarded in gentle hazard of being caught within the closing levels by Valentina Rosamilia and Lore Hoffman, though the Swiss duo ultimately completed in 1:59.90 and 1:59.91 respectively.
As holder of the world indoor 400m report with 49.17, Bol will need to have felt straightforward going by midway in 57 seconds. She regarded relaxed as effectively. You wouldn’t count on her to leap into a completely top-class race on her debut both. So it is going to be intriguing to see how she fares towards stronger opposition in coming weeks. Actually, her 1:59.07 was nowhere close to the identical normal as her sub-50-second capability over 400m indoors.
Gabriela Gajanová was as a result of be on this race in Metz however was a late withdrawal after catching a chilly. It was a disgrace as Gajanová holds the Slovak report with 1:58.22 outdoor and would have offered an actual check. What’s extra, Gajanová was runner-up to Hodgkinson on the 2024 European Championships in Rome though the Briton was under-par that day with a slight sickness of her personal.
READ MORE: Hurdles nice Harald Schmid on Bol’s 800m ‚journey‘
Georgia Hunter Bell will likely be one other athlete who’s unlikely to be fazed by Bol’s debut. Hunter Bell received silver behind Odira – and narrowly forward of Hodgkinson – on the World Championships in Tokyo final September and coincidentally was racing on the identical afternoon as Bol, setting a world 1500m lead of 4:00.05 with a robust end on the World Indoor Tour Gold meet in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Issy Boffey’s world main mark of 1:57.43 additionally survives the weekend. It was past Bol in Metz however what can the Dutch athlete obtain as soon as she actually will get into her stride in her new occasion?
