It’s time for a resurgence! Femke Bol’s Paris Olympics stint was a little bit of everything. With one gold (mixed 4x400m relay), one silver (women’s 4x400m relay), and one bronze (400m hurdles), she completed the triad of medals. However, when she confronted Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, she took back home a lesser rank, while the American rewrote a new world record in hurdles. But that was too soon to form a judgment. The Diamond League premier shows that Bol is gradually catching up to the WR pace, and the first step has already been kicked off.

On August 22, in the Lausanne Diamond League, Bol evinced her mettle. 52.25s—that’s all it took for her to set a new meet record, besting her own former timing. Note that she did the same in the absence of the reigning Olympic champion. Adding the icing to the cake, this feat has now taken the Dutch powerhouse hurdler to a total of 8 Diamond League meet records. But, it looks like she is eyeing a ninth at the Silesia Diamond League, on Sunday, 25th August.

Femke Bol’s target is locked in, and it’s not Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s WR for now

As McLaughlin-Levrone’s rival, Femke Bol, sat down for a pre-meet press conference, she opened up about how the stadium is a special one for her. She said, “The stadium, it’s always amazing, I was last here at the European team champs, and I am really happy to be here again.” When the reporter pointed out how this is her coach, Laurent Meuwly’s favorite stadium, she agreed, “Yeah, I think in the world, it’s my favorite, or not, I also like it, but it’s my coach really like it.” Bol agreed that Laurent thinks the Silesia stadium has the best track and is great for 400m.

The reporter further pointed out how Bol would be running in the 400m hurdles for the first time in this stadium, so she brushed up on where the meet record stands here. To which the Netherlands athlete replied, “I know because it’s my teammate Victoriya’s. So I sent her a message yesterday, and I hope to get it tomorrow. Even though it would be nice for her to hold onto it;” it looks like Bol is in comeback mode after losing out on the 400mH Olympic title to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

54.18 is Viktoriya Tkachuk’s existing meet record, one she etched in September 2021. And Bol has made it clear that she is looking to break that. And it also looks like an achievable feat for her. All of Femke Bol’s 8-DL meet records are way quicker than this time. Her speediest was the 52.25-second one from earlier this week. And the slowest was the 53.05s one from Lausanne back in 2021. Especially with Bol’s season best this year being a 50.95 s from July 2024 in Switzerland, it seems quite achievable. However, Bol wishes well for her contemporary, Victoriya, too, both of whom train under coach Meuwly.

While this seems the target at hand, in the larger scheme of things, Bol wishes to inch closer to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s WR time, a blistering 50.37s. But the question is: can she?

Should Sydney McLaughlin Levrone brace for a future challenge?

“Gave it my all, and left my heart on the track. It’s not the race and the result I came for and that hurts.” Bol did not suppress her emotions after she lost to McLaughlin-Levrone in Paris. Even though Bol clocked 52.15s, the 19th fastest time in history, she was far from matching the American, who etched a sixth world record. From the 2021 Olympic trials until the Paris Olympics, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has broken six world records. And as of now, it’s 3 for her and 0 for Femke Bol in a direct face-off.

Paris 2024 Olympics – Athletics – Women’s 400m Hurdles Final – Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France – August 08, 2024. Gold medallist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of United States in action before winning gold and setting a new world record. REUTERS/Sarah MeyssonnierBut, with her recent DL accomplishment, Bol has announced that she is still here in the race. After the Laussane achievement, she said, “I’m still in great shape, with no injuries or sickness, which is really positive.” And now she looks to break another meeting record. Is she eyeing something bigger on her palette soon?