The 2023 track season started off with a world record for one of the best 400m hurdlers in the world.
On Saturday, Femke Bol of the Netherlands took down the 500m indoor world record at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix with her time of 1:05.63.
“Well I think we’ve been wanting to do a 500m for a while because I know indoor is my strong part, and training has been going really well for the outdoors part,” Bol said in an interview after her race. “I think it’s never a bad thing to run a bit longer because I hope the 400 will feel a bit easier.”
Bol is coming off of a fantastic season last year, where she won over seven medals at major championships, including a silver medal at the World Championships in Eugene in the 400m hurdles. She ran the 500m today in preparation for the 400m hurdles this season.
“I think it’s really for my 400m hurdles,” she said. “You need a strong last part, and I’m working on getting the 40’s right. So that’s for the first part, so it’s good to keep the last 100 meters also in the back of my head to be strong.”
