"I have a lot of respect for her" - Femke Bol takes inspiration from rival Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone heading into 2024 Paris Olympics

By Anirudh

Modified Jul 19, 2024 13:10 GMT

Femke Bol has said that she is heading into the 2024 Paris Olympics with confidence. She also said that she takes inspiration from US gold medallist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ahead of the quadrennial event.

Bol and McLaughlin-Levrone have been going head-to-head for the 400m hurdles titles for a few years now. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Bol finished third while world record holder McLaughlin-Levrone clinched the gold medal.

The Dutch athlete recently spoke about her relationship with the American and expressed admiration for her work ethic.

"Of course, we're friendly and we're with the same sponsor. We both realise that the 400m hurdles is not an easy event and I have a lot of respect for her. I know how committed and hard-working she is. We don't see each other a lot but we'll see each other in Paris!" she said.

"It's inspirational and motivational how McLaughlin-Levrone's racing and seeing how she's raising the bar. In all honesty a couple of years ago if you'd told me people would be running 400m hurdles in 51sec, I wouldn't have believed it, and now I'm one of them doing it," she added.

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Femke Bol: "I'm really excited to be out here and have one last test before Paris"

Femke Bol at the 26th European Athletics Championships in Rome, Italy - Getty Images

Femke Bol has been in good form recently. She clocked 50.95 seconds at the Resisprint La Chaux-de-Fonds meeting in Switzerland on Sunday, July 14, thus breaking her own 400m hurdles European record of 51.45 seconds. Notably, she became just the second woman in history to go faster than 51 seconds in the event.

She is currently in London for the Diamond League meet, which will be the last competitive event before the Summer Games. Ahead of her event, she said that she hopes to build on her momentum heading into Paris.

"It's an amazing track in London and I really hope to put up a good race again, show my form and build on last week, open up fast and finish a bit stronger," Bol said.

"I'm really excited to be out here and have one last test before Paris. I'm really happy, training has been going really well and competition is also going great. It's a great feeling going into the Olympics," she added.

Bol is scheduled to take part in the 400m hurdles in London on Saturday, July 20.