Dutch track star Femke Bol to move from hurdles to women’s 800m event
Bol said on social media that she is ready for the next chapter in her career
Kevin Morris
The reigning world champion in the women’s 400m hurdles says she is stepping away from the event (for now), and is ready for her next challenge: the women’s 800m.
On Friday, Dutch track star Femke Bol announced the switch on social media: “I’m really excited to share the next chapter of my career,” she said. “It’s a big change, it’s uncertain and challenging, but I’m ready to put in the work, surrounded by an amazing team, and enjoy this new journey.”
In a video shared on Instagram, the double world 400m hurdles champion (2023 and 2025) and two-time Olympic bronze medallist (2020 and 2024) flipped through a diary highlighting her career. When she turned the page to the next chapter, it simply read: “800m.”
Bol has not raced the 800m since her junior track days. Her previous best at the distance was 2:19.51 at age 17. As a professional, her longest race has been 500 metres, where she holds the world best mark of 1:05.63, set at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in 2023.
I attended Bol’s 500m record-setting race in Boston and asked if she had ever considered moving up in distance. Bol replied, “No, I hope not. My coach [Laurent Meuwly] has some ideas, and I’m trusting him. We are planning to stick with the hurdles.”
Although she initially denied it, Bol had hinted at moving up in distance last year at the Diamond League final in Brussels, with interest in racing 600m against Keely Hodgkinson after Mondo Duplantis’s 100m race against Norway’s Karsten Warholm.
Bol says she and Hodgkinson, the Olympic 800m champion, are good friends, though she still considers the two-lap race “a bit far.” Hodgkinson was among the first to respond to Bol’s announcement, saying she can’t wait to share the start line with her in 2026.
Bol is currently the second-fastest woman of all time in the 400m hurdles, trailing only U.S. star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who holds the world record at 50.37 seconds. With McLaughlin-Levrone focusing on the 400m and Bol moving to the 800m, the 400m hurdles event could soon see a new star emerge.
