Femke Bol announces date for her 800m debut
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Reading Time: 3min | Thu. 29.01.26. | 17:14
Since then, speculation has been rife over how the Dutch superstar would fare in the demanding two-lap race and, crucially, where she would launch her new chapter
Dutch athletics star Femke Bol has officially confirmed when and where she will make her highly anticipated debut over 800 meters.
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The two-time world 400m hurdles champion will step up to the distance for the first time at the Meeting Metz Moselle Athlélor Crédit Mutuel in Metz, France, on Sunday, 8 February.
Bol sent shockwaves through the athletics world in October 2025 when she revealed plans to transition to the 800m, a move few saw coming from an athlete who has dominated the one-lap hurdles event.
Since then, speculation has been rife over how the Dutch superstar would fare in the demanding two-lap race and, crucially, where she would launch her new chapter.
That wait is now over. The Metz meeting is part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver series and one of 23 indoor competitions set to be live-streamed by European Athletics channels, with exact broadcast details to be announced in due course.
The 25-year-old’s decision to test herself in the 800m has added extra intrigue to an event already packed with elite talent.
Bol is expected to line up against some of Europe’s finest, including Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain, world 800m silver medalist Georgia Hunter Bell, also from Great Britain, and Swiss Diamond League winner Audrey Werro. Her presence alone has elevated anticipation around the meet.
Despite the fierce competition, Bol’s choice to debut just four months into her transition suggests confidence in her preparation.
Speaking to Moselle TV, meeting director Dominique Abisse highlighted the comfort factor behind the decision.
“She has chosen a place that reassures her, where she is on known ground, and a land that she appreciates,” he said.
Metz has indeed been kind to Bol in recent seasons.
She opened her 2024 indoor campaign at the same venue, winning both the 200m and 400m in impressive times of 22.64 and 49.69 seconds.
Those performances echoed her sprint double from the previous season, when she clocked 22.87 and 49.96, the latter marking her first-ever sub-50-second indoor run.
Bol initially rose to global prominence in the 400m hurdles, where she owns the European record of 50.95 seconds and remains one of only two women, alongside Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, to break the 51-second barrier.
Her résumé continued to grow at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she completed a full medal set: gold, silver, and bronze, before backing it up with a dominant 2025 campaign that included a fifth consecutive Diamond League title.
Along the way, Bol even flirted with the idea of following McLaughlin-Levrone into the flat 400m. The notion was well-founded, given her personal best of 49.44 seconds, which still stands as the Dutch national record.
Ultimately, however, the allure of the 800m proved too strong, even as she continues to represent the Netherlands in relay events.
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