From the low of a fall to glory with gold: Femke Bol's impressive comeback at World Athletics Championships 2023
Femke Bol etched her name into the history of track and field with one of the greatest comebacks at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Leading up to the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Bol was a huge favorite to win the women's 400m hurdles title but apart from that there were expectations around her to win a medal in the relays as well.
But Femke Bol didn't have a great start to the World Athletics Championships, as she was in the headlines after the conclusion of day one of the championships. The mixed 4x400m relay final was held as the last event of day one of the World Athletics Championships.
A total of nine teams were competing for the mixed 4x400m relay title. Team Netherlands, consisting of Liemarvin Bonevacia, Lieke Klaver, Isaya Klein Ikkink and Femke Bol, were set to run in the finals of the mixed 4x400m relay.
In the anchor leg of the mixed 4x400m relay, Femke Bol established a slight lead over Alexis Holmes of USA and it looked like the Netherlands were about to win the gold medal as well as set a new world record. With the finish line just ahead of her, the Dutch athlete stumbled to the ground as Holmes went past her to set a new world record and win the World title for Team USA.
Bol's fall was talked about a lot among the fans and media. Fast forward to day six of the World Athletics Championships, the Dutch athlete was lining up to compete in the women's 400m hurdles. She started off in lane six and was in fourth place in the middle of the 400m hurdles and then there was no stopping her from there.
She improved her pace significantly and went past her competitors to the top spot. And once Femke Bol established her lead, no other competitor was close to catching up to the Dutch athlete as she cruised to victory with a time of 51.70.
While the 400m hurdles title victory was itself touted as one of the best comebacks, there was more to come from the 2019 European U20 champion. The women's 4x400m relay final on day nine was the last event of the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Team Netherlands, consisting of Eveline Saalberg, Lieke Klaver, Cathelijn Peeters and Femke Bol, were set to represent the Netherlands in the final of the women's 4x400m relay.
When the anchor leg of the relay began, Bol received the baton from Cathelijn Peeters and started sprinting. She was in third place, behind Jamaica's Stacey Ann Williams and Britain's Nicole Yeargin. The Dutch athlete started to pick up her pace and surpassed Yeargin and it looked like the Netherlands were going to finish in second place.
As the support for Femke Bol was huge across the stadium, the crowd noise was getting higher and higher but the Dutch athlete showed that she wasn't settling for a silver medal as she went past Jamaica's Stacey Ann Williams in the final two strides to win the gold medal.
Team Netherlands clocked a world-leading time of 3:20.88 to take home the gold medal. But this victory might be sweeter for Bol than the 400m hurdles victory. The Dutch athlete was on the cover image across the world as she guided the Netherlands to victory in the final event of the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
While she was criticized for falling to the ground just before the finish line, Bol picked herself up and made an impressive comeback by winning two gold medals at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. The comeback story of Femke Bol will be forever etched as one of the best comebacks in the history of track and field.
How many World Championship medals has Femke Bol won?
Femke Bol has won four World Outdoor Championships medals and two World Indoor Championships medals. She has won two gold medals and two silver medals at World Athletics Outdoor Championships.
The Dutch athlete won two silver medals at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene by finishing in second place in the 400m hurdles and 4x400m mixed relay.
In the same year at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Bol claimed two silver medals by finishing in second place in the 400m and women's 4x400m relay.
At the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Femke Bol secured two gold medals by emerging victorious in the women's 400m hurdles and women's 4x400m relay events.