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Femke Bol expressed her thoughts after setting a new world lead in the women's 400m hurdles at the Monaco Diamond League. The Dutch athlete clocked 51.95s to surpass the world lead that was set by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the Grand Slam Track in Miami.
Bol marched into the Monaco Diamond League after winning the gold medal in the women's 400m at the European Athletics Championships. The Dutch athlete competed in both the 400m as well as the 400m hurdles in the 2025 season and expressed her desire to push her limits and put forward strong performances leading up to the World Championships in September.
The Olympic medalist competed against a highly competitive line-up of athletes, which included Daliah Muhammad and Anna Cockrell, among others. After clocking a new world lead, Femke Bol expressed her thoughts about her performance and shared that it was a thrilling race for her.
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Moreover, breaking the 52-second barrier was also a great indication of gearing up for the major races of the season. Femke Bol expressed how competing alongside athletes like Muhammad and Cockrell helped her to push her limits even further.
"The race was pretty good, it was a thrilling race till the end. The wind was different compared to my previous races. Running 51 is always very special, I don't do that every day. I wanted to do my own race, I was suprised because my first two races didn't go that well. But I always look up to race Muhammad and Cockrell, you can never count them out. This helps for the adrenaline,"she said.
Femke Bol expressed her elation at having a great start to the season and revealed that she will be back to training once again after the London Diamond League to prepare for the World Championships.
"I am feeling good so far this season, I had a great start to it. I also did two 400m flats but I could see my shape getting better. I was curious here to see what I can do in those great circumstances. I have London in a week after that we will go back to training to prepare for World Championships and the last competitions," she added.
Femke Bol opens up about taking a break from racing
Femke Bol skipped the individual races of the 2025 indoor season and spoke to Olympics.com about her decision. The Dutch athlete shared that she decided to take a break from racing to spend some more time at home as well as prepare for major races of the season.
Bol shared that she utilized the time to train as well as rejuvenate herself before returning to the track circuit.
"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," she said.
The 25-year-old will be competing at the World Athletics Championships later this year with the goal of defending her title in the women's 400m hurdles against top athletes like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Dalilah Muhammad, Anna Cockrell, and others.
