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"Femke Bol is once-in-a-lifetime talent" - 24-year-old lauded by teammate Eugene Omalla after guiding Netherlands to mixed relay gold in Paris 2024
Netherlands' track and field star Eugene Omalla heaped praise on his teammate Femke Bol. His remarks followed the Dutchwoman's stunning performance that led their team to victory in the mixed 4×400m relay, earning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The race took place on Saturday, August 3. The Dutch team, consisting of Bol, Omalla, Lieke Klaver, and Isaya Klein Ikkink, started from a challenging position, trailing far behind and seemingly out of medal contention.
However, everything changed when Bol, who was in fourth place when she took the baton, overtook Great Britain's Amber Anning and Belgium’s Naomi van den Broeck before finally surpassing USA's Kaylyn Brown to lead her country to gold medal glory.
The 24-year-old, whose best event is the 400m hurdles, ran her final lap in an incredible 47.93 seconds despite the rain. The Netherlands won the race in 3:07.43, finishing 0.31 seconds ahead of the USA, who took home the silver. Britain claimed the bronze with a national record of 3:08.01.
During a team press conference after the event, Eugene Omalla gushed over his teammate Femke Bol, calling her a "once-in-a-lifetime talent" who competed with all her heart.
"What can we even say, Femke Bol is once-in-a-lifetime talent," Omalla said. "Someone so special. She has it not just in her legs, not just in her arms, but she has it in her heart and in her head. So, no words for that. Amazing woman."
He also shared his emotions after the historic win, saying:
"The emotions are all over the place. I think for everyone it's still just processing what just happened. It's history in the books, so it's amazing."
Femke Bol: "We just wanted a medal this time, we didn't think it would be gold"
Femke Bol spoke with the media after anchoring the Netherlands to gold in the mixed 4×400m relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She mentioned that she just "went for it," keeping in mind their goal of winning a medal.
"I hoped to run that fast some time but in the relay you never look too much at split times. It's more about putting it together as a team and technically you have to race it well," Bol said.
"I just went for it. We just wanted a medal this time, we didn't think it would be gold, just a medal. Well, we got gold and are the Olympic champions. It is absolutely crazy for a small country like ours," the Dutchwoman added.
Bol also shared what fueled her performance. It was a blend of her experience at last year's World Championships in Budapest, where she fell just within meters of the finish line and lost the gold to the US, the motivating inner voice urging her to keep going, and the encouragement from her teammates and the crowd.
"Just keep going, keep going. And my general anger from Budapest! That and my teammates cheering me. And the atmosphere in this stadium is absolutely incredible. It's crazy. So everything together," she said.
The win keeps Femke Bol's pursuit of three Olympic golds on course. Her attention now shifts to the women's 400m hurdles on Sunday, August 4, where she is expected to challenge world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
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