Dutch star Femke Bol continues to go from strength to strength after picking up her second successive Wanda Diamond League title last year.
Fresh from another dominant season in athletics’ premier one-day series in 2022, the flying Dutchwoman already has a world record under her belt in 2023, having obliterated Jarmila Kratochvilova’s previous best with 49.26 in Apeldoorn last weekend.
Self-effacing as ever, Bol described her record as “a bonus” as she prepares to defend her 400m hurdles Diamond Trophy and World Athletics Championships silver medal in 2023.
Yet the record should have come as no surprise for regular Bol-watchers. As well as claiming her first Diamond League victory in the 400m flat in Silesia last year, she has repeatedly proven her record-breaking pedigree in the 400m hurdles in recent years.
The outstanding performer in the women’s 400m hurdles since she burst onto the Diamond League scene in 2020, Bol has broken the series record twice in the last two years, and smashed no fewer than three meeting records in another imperious title charge last season.