For years, Femke Bol’s name was almost inseparable from the 400m hurdles. But after spending the first chapter of her career chasing Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone around one lap of the track, the Dutch star has taken a completely different road… and she does not appear ready to turn back.
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The 26-year-old has traded hurdles for the 800m, a decision that initially looked like a gamble but has quickly begun to look inspired. In her first season over two laps, Bol has already collected a European bronze, multiple Diamond League podiums and times that have placed her among the world’s best.
Highlighting her seamless transition from the 400mH to the 800m, during a recent interview, Nia Gibson asked her, “Do you see yourself carrying this on throughout your career? Are you returning to the 400 hurdles after?”
Her answer offered perhaps the clearest indication yet of where her future lies.
“Umm, I think for now I’d like to stick with the 800m. It seems seamless. It wasn’t seamless. But yeah, I’m very happy with how this first season is going, and we always saw it as a multiple-year thing. I’m not sure I’ll ever be back to the hurdles, but I also wouldn’t say I’m never back. So, we will see. But for now, I’m for sure focusing on it.”
That decision becomes even more striking when considering what Bol had already accomplished in the hurdles. She was a two-time world champion and an Olympic medallist, with McLaughlin-Levrone often standing as the imposing figure ahead of her.
Yet the new challenge has brought an energy of its own.
“This year is going better than I could expect for the first year,” Bol said ahead of the Lausanne Diamond League. “It’s a lot faster, and tactically, I’m a lot better than we expected. It’s really fun and I’m really happy.”
Even the possibility of rewriting Dutch history arrived sooner than expected. “After Paris [Diamond League, in June], I was very close and I really didn’t expect it that day,” she said. “Then it started to be in my head that maybe I could do it this year.”
She eventually matched Ellen van Langen’s 1:55.54 national record at the European Championships, adding another remarkable chapter to a season that began with uncertainty.
In fact, Bol has finished inside the top three in every 800m race she has contested this season. Her improvement has been rapid enough to make the move feel less like an experiment and more like the beginning of another elite career.
And the timing could hardly be more intriguing.
Femke Broeders-Bol on her rivalry with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
Bol knows exactly what it feels like to compete alongside an athlete capable of changing an event. Her rivalry with McLaughlin-Levrone in the 400m hurdles gave her a front-row seat to that phenomenon.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Bol claimed bronze behind the American, a result that helped fuel her ambition. Yet despite repeatedly finding herself on the opposite side of McLaughlin-Levrone’s record-breaking performances, Bol has never hidden her admiration.
“It’s always unique to compete against her. I love it, even though there’s a very good chance I’ll finish second. She’s the very best ever in the event I do, so it remains special,” Bol said in an interview with NOS.
McLaughlin-Levrone’s versatility has also impressed her, particularly as the American expanded into the flat 400m and 100m hurdles.
“It’s amazing to see someone who is so diverse on the track, who’s a great athlete in 400m hurdles but also giving it a shot in 100 hurdles or 100m – and it’s always a joy to watch her race. She’s the best to ever do it,” Bol said.
That admiration, however, comes with a small sense of disappointment. Bol had hoped to share the track with McLaughlin-Levrone again before their paths moved in different directions.
“Maybe it’s a bit of a disappointment. It’s a shame,” she admitted. “As a track and field enthusiast, I think it’s great that she’s going to do the 400. But as an athlete, I’d love to run against her; that just hasn’t happened very often.”
Now, though, Bol has her own race to run.
Her switch to the 800m was never intended as an easy route to medals. It was a leap into unfamiliar territory, one that demanded new endurance, new tactics and patience.
And the early returns have been extraordinary.
Bol recently pushed Audrey Werro all the way in Lausanne, running 1:55.41 and improving the Dutch record she had previously equalled. She has also established herself as one of the leading names in an increasingly competitive 800m field. The hurdles may have made Bol a champion, but the 800m is giving her something different: the chance to discover just how far her limits can stretch. For now, at least, there is no rush to return to the event where it all began.