"Back in this beautiful stadium"- Femke Bol relives last year's London Diamond League as she gears up for pre-Olympic duel

By Marie Amani

Modified Jul 20, 2024 01:33 GMT

Femke Bol will be racing at the Diamond League Meeting in London on Saturday, the final Diamond League before the Paris Olympics 2024. As she gears up for her return to the English capital, Bol has gone down memory lane to last year’s edition of the race, where she won in style, clocking 51.45.

After the 2023 London Diamond League, Bol won the 400m Hurdles at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. In the Hungarian capital, she propelled the Dutch women’s 4x400m relay team to victory in 3:20.72, bouncing back from a fall.

The two-time world indoor champion now returns to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Stadium in London, hoping to enjoy a great run and ensure she has a great build-up to the Olympic Games.

In a post on her Instagram handle, Bol expressed excitement to be making a grand return to London. She also highlighted the beauty of the stadium as she relived the memories of last season.

"Back in this beautiful stadium 😍. Racing tomorrow at 14:04 (🇳🇱15:04). Last year was a dream come true, full of amazing moments, I’m super excited to be here again ❤️‍🔥," Bol wrote.

In London, Femke Bol will be up against two-time world bronze medallist Rushell Clayton, who has been in great shape this season. After qualifying for the Olympic Games at the Jamaican Olympic trials, Clayton has yet to compete. She will enjoy the company of the Jamaican duo of Andrenette Knight and Shiann Salmon.

The British duo of Jessie Knight and Lina Nielsen will also be out to shine on home soil, hoping to challenge Bol.

Femke Bol delivers sub-51 performance ahead of Olympic 2024

Femke Bol at the 26th European Athletics Championships - Rome 2024

Femke Bol recently became only the second woman to dip under 51 seconds in the 400m Hurdles. She clocked a stunning 50.95s, a new European record and her personal best, at the Resisprint La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland last Sunday. This was also the third-fastest time in the world over the distance.

The top two times are owned by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who broke her own world record at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials with 50.65s. At the 2022 World Championships, held at the Hayward Field, McLaughlin-Levrone broke the world record, clocking 50.68s to win.

With her latest performance, Bol has fired warning shots at McLaughlin-Levrone and other track rivals ahead of the Paris Olympics. At the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, she finished third in the women’s 400m Hurdles and will be out to improve on that bronze medal.