"It's going to be an extra leap"- Femke Bol announces significant career change after World Championships success

Day 9 - World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 - Source: Getty
Femke Bol (Image via: Getty Images)

Dutch track and field athlete Femke Bol made a major career announcement weeks after tasting immense success at the World Athletics Championships 2025. Bol's heroics saw her clinch the second 400m hurdles title of her career, along with two other relay medals, silver in the mixed and bronze in the women's 4x400m relays.

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With this campaign, Bol further solidified her legacy in the 400m hurdles event as one of the most decorated as well as one of the fastest, but just a few weeks later, Bol made a major career move as she transitioned from the hurdles to the 800m flat race.

The Dutch athlete announced this career update through an Instagram video, where she expressed excitement for this new chapter, stating that this would be a very different spectrum compared to the hurdles, and further expressed her love for her previous event and said:

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"Now it's time for a new chapter. It's going to be an extra leap; I'm moving to the 800m. Fewer hurdles on the track, or well, a different kind of hurdles,' I've learned so much from hurdling, and I really loved, it will always have a special place in my heart. I'm ready for the next challenge, a new stimulus, a completely different kind of race, it's different from what I'm used to in the 400m hurdles, and I'm really excited to explore that."
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In the video, Femke Bol's coach, Laurent Meuwly, also appeared, where she remarked that this transition would be a challenge for both of them. Notably, the Dutch athlete's last completed 800m appearance came way back in 2017 during a U18 event, Dortmund Hallensportfest, where she won this race in 2:19.51.

Femke Bol shared her thoughts on competing against top athletes like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in 400m hurdles months before she transitioned to 800m

Femke Bol made her feelings known about competing against the likes of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Dalilah Muhammad in the 400m hurdles. This comes a few months before she transitioned to the 800m event.

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Speaking in an interview, Bol said that she is very proud to compete in a generation that has so many great hurdlers like Muhammed and McLaughlin-Levrone. She said (via Athletics Weekly, 5:50 onwards):

"I think it's amazing to be a part of the generation and to be pushing each other the whole time and to be doing stuff we never thought was possible for hurdles. I think it's so inspiring and amazing to race alongside them."
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With her transition to the 800m, Femke Bol will face new tough competitors such as Keely Hodgkinson, Mary Moraa, Lilian Odira, Georgia Hunter Bell, etc.

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Edited by Soumik Bhattacharya
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