“Every point counts”- Femke Bol explains European Team Championships setup as event kicks off in Madrid

Dutch sprinting sensation Femke Bol is aiming for her team to be at the top of the leaderboard. The athlete is gearing up for a podium finish as the European Team Championships kick off in Madrid, Spain.

Netherlands' track and field sensation Femke Bol has been at the top of her game, adding to the strong competition in the 400-meter women alongside Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's personal best of 48.74 is being chased closely by Bol. Bol's personal best in 400 meters is 49.17, just 0.43 seconds behind McLauglhin-Levrone.

Bol had a podium finish at the 2025 Ostrava Golden Spike, winning the bronze in 400 meters, posting 49.98 on the clock. In an Instagram post, Femke Bol explained how the point system works in the European Team Championships and how every single point matters.

"European Team Champs starts from today, it's all about getting points for the team. The higher you finish in your event, the more points you score for the team. So across every event we try to win as many point as possible, every point counts!! After four days all the points of the country are added up and there's a winning country. In 2023 we ranked 6th as let's see what this year brings," Bol shared on her Instagram story.

Screenshot of Femke Bol's Instagram story (@femke_bol/ig)

The athlete will be in action on the track for the European Team Championships in Madrid on June 27, 2025.

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Femke Bol on taking a break from racing and reflecting on happy moments from Tokyo Olympics

European Athletics Indoor Championships - Day Four - Source: Getty

The athlete opened up about the break from competition after her Memorial Van Damme last year. Memorial Van Damme is an annual athletic event at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels. Bol took a break from racing and focused on training under the guidance of coach Laurent Meuwly.

“I took a break from racing, but it meant I had to train a lot. I'm really happy that I did this. I enjoyed this time just training a lot, being more at home, and now I'm enjoying racing again," Bol was quoted as saying by Olympics.com.

Bol debuted at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning the bronze medal in the 400-meter hurdles. Competing alongside a star athlete like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone gave the athlete a boost of confidence, which helped her excel further.

"I have good feelings about the stadium in Tokyo, where I won my Olympic bronze medal. I'm just looking forward to returning to it," she added.

The Dutch track and field star, Femke Bol, will return to Tokyo for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in September 2025.