Grandiose comeback to gold
Incredible Femke Bol delivers a great season show
03.08.2024, 21:17
Femke Bol sprints the Dutch 4×400 meter relay team to Olympic victory. Bol starts the race as the last runner, far behind, but then flies away from everyone in the final meters.
Sprint star Femke Bol led the Dutch mixed relay team over 4×400 m to Olympic gold with a dream run – and duped the USA in the process. The 24-year-old Bol took the baton as the final runner with a long gap, but on the home straight the hurdle specialist flew past the US final runner Kaylyn Brown. At the World Championships last year in Budapest, Bol fell shortly before the finish line while battling for victory and lost the baton.
The Netherlands triumphed surprisingly after 3:07.43 minutes, just two hundredths of a second above the world record set by the USA in the preliminary round. Bol celebrated her first Olympic victory. The US team won silver with a time of 3:07.74 minutes, while Great Britain took bronze (3:08.01).
At the 2022 European Championships in Munich, Bol won gold in the 400 metres, 400 metres hurdles and in the 4×400 metres relay. At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, she won the 400 metres hurdles and in the 4×400 metres relay. Before that, in mid-February, she improved the indoor world record over 400 metres to 49.26 seconds – for the first time in more than 40 years.
The German relay team clearly missed out on a place in the final. Jean Paul Bredau, Alica Schmidt, Manuel Sanders and Eileen Demes did not manage to get past 3:15.63 minutes and seventh place in their preliminary heat. After that, differences about the line-up became public.
The mixed 4×400 m relay was held in Paris for only the second time at the Olympic Games. The premiere three years ago in Tokyo was won by Poland.