Dutch star Femke Bol sets second 400-meter indoor world record in two weeks
By Issy Ronald, CNN
(CNN) — Dutch track star Femke Bol continued her golden year on Saturday, smashing her own indoor 400-meter world record at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.
After leading the pack for the majority of the race, the 24-year-old streaked away on the finishing straight to record a time of 49.17 seconds, almost a second ahead of her compatriot Lieke Klaver in second place. The USA’s Alexis Holmes finished in third with a personal best time of 50.25.
Bol’s time also shattered the world record of 49.24 she had set just two weeks ago at the Dutch national championships, as well as the championship record of 50.06 that Russia’s Olesya Krasnomovets-Forsheva had set in 2006.
“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,” Bol said afterwards, according to the Olympics’ official website.
“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.”
With the Paris Olympics less than five months away, this result further confirms Bol’s status as one of athletics’ brightest stars heading into the Games.
Equally adept over the hurdles and on the flat, she is the current world champion in both the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay. Last year, she broke the 41-year-old world record in the indoor 400m and currently owns four of the six fastest times in the event’s history.
Achieving such success in both disciplines is virtually unprecedented. At the 2022 European Championships, Bol became the first ever woman to win both the 400m and 400m hurdles at a major championships.
“This is great because I’ve not done hurdles for four weeks and it gives me confidence,” she added after Saturday’s race, per World Athletics. “And to get this with Lieke, it’s so good for our sport and our team.”
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