When she arrived in Monaco last week, Femke Bol was a woman on a mission.
The Dutch 400m hurdler has dominated her disciplines like few others this decade, notching up 27 Diamond League wins and five series title in an extraordinary unbeaten streak stretching back to 2020.
Yet despite making her Diamond League debut at Meeting Herculis in the 400m flat back in 2020, Bol had never won a hurdles race in Monaco.
It was one of the few gaps on her Diamond League CV, and one she was determined to fill at the Stade Louis II on Friday evening.
She did so in style, wiping the floor with a field which included former world record holder Dalilah Muhammad and Jamaica’s Andrenette Knight.
As she crossed the line, the Wanda Diamond League’s Official Timekeeper OMEGA clocked Bol at 51.95, a new meeting record and the fastest time in the world this year.
It was only the sixth time in her career that the Dutchwoman had broken the 52-second barrier, and the tenth-fastest time in history.
“To run a 51 is huge, I don’t do that every day!” said Bol, who is now well on course to qualify for the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich on August 27-28 after three successive wins.
