- Status: Active
- Age: 25
- Birthday: February 23, 2000
- Nationality: Dutch
- Height: 184cm (6’0”)
- Weight: ~65kg
- Events: 400m hurdles, 400 meters
- Personal Bests:
- 400m: 49.17s
- 400mH: 50.95m
Femke Bol Honours
- 2024 Olympic Gold in the 4×400-Meter Mixed Relay
- 2024 Olympic Silver in the 4×400-Meter Relay
- 2024 Olympic Bronze in the 400-Meter Hurdles
- 2021 Olympic Bronze in the 400-Meter Hurdles
- 2023 World Champion in the 400-Meter Hurdles
- 2023 World Champion in the 4×400-Meter Relay
- 2022 World Championship Silver in the 400-Meter
- 2022 World Championship Silver in the 4×400-Meter Relay
- 4 x Diamond League Final Winner
- 5 x European Champion
- 27 x Diamond League Winner
Sports Career of Femke Bol | Femke Bol Biography
Femke Bol is one of the most decorated active track and field athletes at the Olympics and World Championships. She began athletics as a young child and started competing internationally in the 400 meters in 2015, at the age of 15, attending the 13th European Olympic Festival in Georgia.
Bol continued to focus on the 400 meters in her youth career. In 2017, she competed at the European U20 Championships as one of the youngest competitors. She would finish eighth in her semifinals.
She would start focusing on the 400-meter hurdles in 2019, a move that would pay off since she would qualify for the World Championships in the event. She would also win the European U20 Championships in the event, running 56.25 seconds.
In 2020, she would qualify for her first Diamond League event, finishing third at the Herculis meeting in Monaco in the 400-meter. She would run the 400-meter hurdles for the first time in the Diamond League a little over a week later, winning the BAUHAUS-Galan meeting in Sweden. She would finish her season by running 53.90 seconds at the Golden Gala in Rome and taking home her second Diamond League title.
First Olympics and Beyond
Bol would start her 2021 season by winning the 400 meters at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Toruń. She would also anchor the Dutch relay team to gold in the 4×400 meters.
She continued to dominate the Diamond League circuit through the season, winning in Rome, Norway, Sweden, and London—and later Lausanne and Zurich after the Olympics.
Bol would run the 4×400-meter mixed relay, 4×400-meter relay, and 400-meter hurdles at the Olympics in Tokyo. The Dutch relay teams would narrowly miss the podium, but she would pick up her first Olympic medal in the 400-meter hurdles, running a personal best of 52.03 seconds. She would finish behind the Americans Sydney McLaughlin and Daliah Muhammad.
Bol would be poised for another dominant season in 2022 and would start by finishing second in the 400 meters at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. At the World Championships in Eugene, she would help the Dutch mixed relay team finish second in the 4×400-meter relay. She would also finish second in the 400-meter hurdles, once again finishing behind her rival Sydney McLaughlin, who would run a world record time of 50.68 seconds.
Bol would be in a league of her own in 2023. She would only lose one race the entire season, the 200 meters at the Dutch Championships, which isn’t a race she frequently contests. At the World Championships in Budapest, she would easily win the 400-meter hurdles with her rival McLaughlin out with an injury, running a personal best of 51.70 seconds.
In the mixed 4×400-meter relay, it would look like the Dutch team would win as Bol headed toward the finish line. But as she reached the line, she lost her footing and fell, allowing the USA to seize the win and the world record. The Dutch would fail to complete the race.
Bol would exert the same dominance on the world scale in 2024 as she did in 2023, winning every race in the 400-meter or 400-meter hurdles, including the European Championships, until the Olympic Games. In the mixed 4×400-meter race, Bol would split 48.00 seconds and run the fastest time by a female runner, helping her team win gold.
In the 400-meter hurdles, Bol would make an attempt to finally get the best of her rival McLaughlin but would run out of gas on the back stretch, getting passed by the other American Anna Cockrell and having to settle for bronze. Two days later, she would anchor the Dutch 4 x 400 meter relay team to a silver medal.
Femke Bol Personal Life and Other Facts |
Before starting track and field, Bol practiced Judo. However, she broke her arm twice when she was young. In her own words, she was “Really bad.”
In a 2023 interview, Bol said that she has a Kinder Bueno as a celebratory treat after racing together with her training partner Lieke Klaver.
Bol has said that her three favorite athletes are Epke Zonderland, Michael Phelps, and Usain Bolt.
Femke’s main rival in the 400-meter hurdles is the American Sydney McLaughlin. At the time of writing, Bol has never beaten McLaughlin in their three lifetime match-ups.
Bol has an older brother who she has said is the one who got her into the sport of athletics. Bol started athletics when she was around 7–8 years old.
Femke Bol graduated from Wageningen University, where she studied communications.
Bol hurdles with 15 steps between the hurdles up to hurdle 8, then with 16 steps between the last two hurdles.
She has called lane 3 her “lucky lane.”
FAQs | Femke Bol
How Tall Is Femke Bol? | Femke Bol Height
Femke Bol is 184 centimeters tall, or a little over six feet.
Who is Femke Bol’s Husband? | Is Femke Bol Married?
As of 2024, Femke Bol was in a relationship with Ben Broeders, a Belgian pole vaulter with a personal best of 5.85m in the event. They bought a house together in 2024.
How Many Olympic Medals Does Femke Bol Have? | Femke Bol Olympics
Femke Bol has four medals from the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.
Who Is Femke Bol’s Coach?
Femke Bol currently works with the Swiss coach Laurent Meuwly. Meuwly won the World Athletics Coaching Achievement Award in 2023 and is the head of sprinting, hurdles, and relays in the Netherlands.
Is Femke Bol Related to Manute Bol?
Femke Bol and Manute Bol have the same last name but are not related. Manute Bol is from Sudan.
