Femke Bol has been the undisputed queen of the 400m hurdles in the Wanda Diamond League in recent years, and the Dutch star reached ever more dizzying heights at the most recent meeting in London last Sunday.
Bol was already well on course for what would be a third successive Diamond League title in 2023, having begun her campaign with victories in Florence, Oslo and Lausanne. In London, she delivered a fourth successive win which secured her qualification to the series final in Eugene on September 16-17th.
Yet it was the manner of her victory which made Bol’s triumph in London the OMEGA Moment of the Meeting.
The flying Dutchwoman raced ahead of the rest of the field in the first 200 metres, putting clear daylight between herself and the chasing pack by the final bend. As she crossed the line, official timekeeper OMEGA clocked her performance at 51.45, the fastest time in the world this year by almost a full second.
More than that, it was also the third-fastest time in history and a new European and Diamond League record, moving Bol to within less than a second of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s world record.
It was the third time in as many years that Bol has broken the series record in the 400m hurdles, and her 17th victory on the Diamond League circuit since her breakthrough season in 2020.
“It’s amazing, I cannot believe it yet,” said Bol after the race. “I felt so strong coming over the last hurdle so I’m really happy. I’ve been wanting to run a 51 ever since Tokyo, I had a feeling I could do it but I still can’t believe I’ve done it.”