Femke Bol Smashes 400m World Indoor Record at Dutch Championships

Femke Bol blazed to an astonishing 49.26 second to shatter the women's world indoor 400m record on Sunday's second day of the Netherlands Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn.

After cracking the 50 seconds barrier for the first time indoors with 49.96 in Metz last Sunday, the 22-year-old shaved a massive 0.7 off that time to smash one of the oldest athletics records, the women's 400m world indoor record of 49.59 set by Jarmila Kratochvilova on 7 March 1982.

Bol also ran faster than her outdoor lifetime best of 49.44 when winning the European title in Munich last August.

Bol blasted out of the blocks and reached 200m in 23.63 before powering home in a sensational 49.26. Her teammate Lieke Klaver was second in 50.34.

"It was because of all the fans here that I ran this record," Bol said.  "Never have I ever seen that many people here. When I crossed the line, I knew that the record was mine because of the crowd's noise."

"Before the race, I was hoping to run the record, but in life, you hope for many things, and most of the time, it does not happen. I am glad that I did not just get the record but that I improved it by a big margin." Bol said.

It is not the first indoor record that Bol has set. The Olympic games and world championships 400m hurdles medalist set a world 300m hurdles best of 36.86 in Ostrava last year and opened this indoor season with a stunning world indoor 500m record of 1:05.63 in Boston.

Dutch Indoor Championships 2023 Results