Record-setting Femke Bol further solidified her reputation as one of the top track and field athletes when she won the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, shattering her own 400-meter world record.
The Dutchwoman won the 400 meters, shattering her own world record in Glasgow. She had won the 400m hurdles and ran a fantastic anchor leg to help the Netherlands win the women’s 4x400m relay at the previous year’s Budapest World Championships.
Bol’s 24-year-old teammate Lieke Klaver started the race outside of her, but Bol quickly took the lead and controlled the race from the front.
The Netherlands runner set a new record with a time of 49.17, taking nine-hundredths of a second off the record she set at the Dutch Indoors a little over a year ago, and Klaver tried in vain to catch up with her.
With a personal best time of 50.24, Alexis Holmes won bronze for the United States, finishing almost two seconds ahead of Klaver. Laviai Nielsen, the home favourite, placed fourth with a personal best time of 50.89.
“I knew I needed a really good race to win this gold. I knew I had to open fast, and once you open fast you have to keep going because you’ll die anyway!” Femke Bol said afterwards as quoted by olympics.com.
“It’s amazing to also run a world record again. I was hoping to be in the 49… my coaches thought I could do it but I really wanted the gold,” she added.