Femke Bol breaks her own world record in indoor 400m final

Dutch sprinter Femke Bol won the women’s 400m in style at the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, breaking her own indoor world record of 49.24 by 0.07 seconds.

Bol made it look effortless from the start, splitting the opening 200m in 23.5 seconds, and held on to win in 49.17 seconds, securing the Netherlands’ first gold medal at these championships. The Dutch went one-two in the women’s 400m, as Bol’s teammate and training partner Lieke Klaver finished second in 50.16, marking the first time in world indoors history that two Dutch athletes reached the podium in the same event.

American Alexis Holmes won bronze in a personal best of 50.24 seconds–Team USA’s ninth medal at these World Indoor Championships.

“We’ve trained so hard together to make this a Dutch one-two,” Bol said in elation. Bol and Klaver’s coach, Laurent Meuwly, tweeted that he was speechless about the outcome of the race. “Sometimes, you don’t need words,” Meuwly wrote.

Sometimes you don’t need words https://t.co/Dsi5y1MDMg

— Laurent Meuwly (@LaurentMeuwly) March 2, 2024

Klaver also praised Meuwly in her post-race interview with Canadian Running. “Our coach treats us as individuals,” says Klaver. “We both have our own race plan, and I have no idea what Femke is doing, nor does she know what I am doing.”

Two of the biggest names in the women’s 400m event are close friends off the track. They are roommates here in Glasgow, and Klaver said today’s result with Bol and her was a “dream come true.”

The two Dutch athletes will join forces on the final day of competition here in Glasgow in the women’s 4x400m relay event, where they will be the likely favourites to win gold, as they did at the outdoor world championships last year in Budapest.

You can stream the 2024 World Indoor Championships from March 1 to 3 from Canada live on CBCSports and CBC, and the CBC Gem app. Canadian Running will be reporting live from Glasgow, reporting on the action and featuring interviews with athletes as everything unfolds. You can follow our coverage on Instagram or Twitter.