“The Dutchwoman is already leading with a huge advantage. Soon, the ninth and tenth hurdles. The fight behind her is for second place,” announced the commentators as Femke Bol took the lead in the Silesia Diamond League. And within seconds, she won the race, her 29th successive Diamond League win. But wait, that’s not it. The Dutch track and field athlete, this late in the season, just before the world championships, clocked the world lead in the 400m hurdles with a time of 51.91 seconds.

Of course, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was not in the field, and she will not be in any 400m hurdles in the near future as the Olympic gold medalist in the very same discipline has chosen to focus on the 400m flat for the upcoming Tokyo World Athletics Championships. Sure indeed, it has played a big role in Bol winning but what are her thoughts? Both over the win today and her stark rival not being there in the Worlds.

“The atmosphere in the stadium is crazy, and I love it! I have been in good shape and really consistent this year. In Budapest, I was perhaps a bit rusty, but today felt really good. When you are consistent at a certain level, that is when you can expect to improve,” said Femke Bol after her win today. She has been good this season – won the European Championships, clocked a couple of sub-50s in the 400m, and has not lost a 400mh yet. Though her 52.24s in the Gyulai István Memorial was quite slow compared to the standards she has built this season. All of this is good news for Tokyo, added Sydney’s absence. What is Bol’s opinion on that?

The Dutch hurdler continued, “Sydney McLaughlin not running the hurdles at the World Championships both does and does not change things. You always run to be the best. But I know I am the favorite now, so that is different.” Undebatable. After McLaughlin-Levrone, if there’s someone that the fans are looking to, it is Femke Bol. But McLaughlin-Levrone has been a different athlete in the 400mH; she broke the world record 6 times, and that didn’t take her even a decade or so; it just kept coming race after race. Had she been there for the 400m hurdles in the Worlds, it would have been far more difficult for the Dutch or not, maybe.

Bol has been faster than the world record holder this season. Levrone posted a top time of 52.07 s in Miramar, which stood as the world-leading performance at that point in the season. Bol shattered the world lead with a 51.95 s performance in the Monaco Diamond League. She then lowered it to 51.91s. But then again, let’s not forget what happens when you put them head-to-head. Whenever they’ve met, Sydney has had the edge; the record is 3-0. Despite all that, the Dutch athlete is going to miss racing against the American.

Femke Bol Is Going to Miss Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the 400mH

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone claimed the 400m national title at the 2025 USATF National Outdoor Championships with a time of 48.90 seconds, and after that came one of the biggest track and field announcements this year. The 400m Hurdles Olympic gold medalist announced, “We’ll focus just on the 400m”. As good as it is that she is pushing herself for the win in the 100m, fans are going to miss her in the hurdles, and so is her stark rival.

“Maybe it’s a bit of a disappointment. It’s a shame,” Bol told in an interview. “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.” The two have raced each other on three occasions. At the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, she won gold in a world record 51.46s, while Bol took bronze with a European record 52.03s.

At the World Championships final 2022, McLaughlin lowered the record again to 50.68 seconds, with Bol second in 52.27 seconds. Then, in Paris 2024, she ran another incredible run, clocking 50.37 seconds for gold, while Bol claimed bronze in 52.15 seconds. Now Levrone moves on to fight new rivals while Bol will look to defend the 400mH crown. Can she?