In a significant profession change, the Dutch athlete will transfer to the two-lap occasion on a everlasting foundation from subsequent season.
Femke Bol has introduced she is switching from the 400m hurdles to the 800m and can begin competing in her new self-discipline subsequent yr.
The 2-time world 400m hurdles champion, who secured two Olympic bronze medals over the gap, made the choice at the side of her coach Laurent Meuwly.
The pair imagine it will likely be a major problem however that competing on the highest stage is greater than attainable for the 25-year-old over two laps.
“The 400m hurdles supplied me with unforgettable moments and formed me into the athlete I’m as we speak,” says Bol. “However I need to problem myself once more and push my boundaries. The 800m is new and unfamiliar territory, and that’s exactly what makes it so fascinating.
“The coaching strategy will likely be completely different from what I’m used to and it’ll require a variety of perseverance to develop at this distance and obtain my objective – competing on the highest stage.”
Meuwly, who has coached Bol to the highest of the world 400m hurdles podium on two events, believes she will excel within the 800m over time.
“Femke has at all times thrived on challenges,” he provides. “Along with her working method, energy, and persona, we’re satisfied she’ll grasp this distance and in the end make a distinction internationally. The transition to the 800m is a major step in her profession, one which demonstrates braveness and ambition.”
In an interview with AW again in 2023, Meuwly had already expressed his view that his star athlete had actual potential over the two-lap occasion, citing a world indoor better of 1:05.63 for 500m in February of that yr as proof of her endurance prowess.
“I feel she’s additionally capable of carry out over 800m,” he stated of the indoor 400m world record-holder. “She confirmed in Boston that she has this effectivity, and she or he’s fairly good in all of the endurance classes due to it. I can think about [the 800m] may additionally be an possibility.”
That has proved to be the case and Bol leaves the 400m hurdles having arguably been part of the best period within the occasion’s historical past. Her private greatest of fifty.95 places the Dutch athlete second on the all-time listing, solely behind world record-holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (50.37).
Between them, the pair maintain the 9 quickest instances in historical past and have shared the final 5 world 400m hurdles titles on supply, courting again to the Tokyo Olympics.
On a European stage, Bol gained 400m hurdles titles in 2022 and 2024, finishing a 400m, 400m hurdles and 4x400m golden treble in Munich three years in the past. She can be the reigning world and European 400m champion indoors and a five-time Diamond League champion over the 400m hurdles.
Relating to the 800m, her final registered time on the distance is 2:19.51 from 2017. The Dutch nationwide document is 1:55.54, set by Ellen van Langen when she gained gold on the Barcelona 1992 Olympics.
