Back at venue where she became World champion, Femke Bol shares message after dominant Gyulai Istvan Memorial win

Femke Bol made her feelings known after her successful outing at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial 2025, held on Tuesday, August 12 in Budapest. Bol dominated the 400m hurdles, clocking 52.24 seconds.

Bol was over two seconds ahead of her competitor, Naomi Van Den Broeck, who finished second in 54.50s. Jasmin Jones and Kemi Adekoya took third and fourth places with clocking 54.61s and 54.63s, respectively.

After the race, Femke Bol reflected on her performance and thanked everyone for their support. She reshared a story from the race on Instagram, writing:

“Another great memory at this track made today [special]. Thank you for the support, the atmosphere was so nice.”

Screenshot of story (IG/@femke_bol)

The meet marked Femke’s return to the venue of the 2023 World Athletics Championships. Back in 2023, she served as the anchor in the 4x400m relay, carrying the Netherlands from third to first in the final meters and helping the team win the championship with a time of 3:20.72. That victory came after Bol had narrowly missed out on gold in the 4x400m mixed relay race, where she had fallen just meters from the finish line.

Apart from winning relay gold, she also secured victory in the women’s 400m hurdles, securing her first world championship gold in the event.

Aside from Femke Bol, other top performances at the meet included two-time Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis of Sweden breaking his world record yet again, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce finished fourth in the women’s 100m, and Kishane Thomas clinched the men’s 100m title.

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Femke Bol expresses disappointment over not racing Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the 2025 World Athletics Championships

The Olympic Games-Paris 2024 - Source: Getty

As Femke Bol asserts her dominance in the 400m hurdles and looks ahead to the Tokyo World Championships, she admits to feeling disappointed that she won’t be going head-to-head with her rival, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, at the World Athletics Championships this September.

“Maybe it’s a bit of a disappointment. It’s a shame,” Bol said. “As a track and field fan, I think it’s great that she’s going to focus on the flat 400. But as an athlete, I would have loved to race against her, that just hasn’t happened very often.” (via NOS)

“It’s always special 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 always feels unique and exciting.”

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the world record holder in the 400m hurdles, has switched her focus to the flat 400m race for the 2025 World Athletics Championships.