Femke Bol becomes only second woman after Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to break 51-second barrier in 400m hurdles, lowers her European record

Femke Bol has just fired a warning shot for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ahead of the Paris Olympics, storming to a personal best and European record of 50.95 seconds at the Resisprint, La Chaux-De-Fonds. This makes the 2023 World Champion only the second woman after the American to breach the 51-second mark.

McLaughlin-Levrone has without a doubt been a trailblazer in the women's 400m hurdles. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the sprinter clocked a 51.46 for gold, becoming the first woman to breach the 52-second mark.

A year later the American broke her own world record twice in quick succession, first clocking a 51.41 at the USATF Championships, before winning the World Championships a month later with a 50.68 on the same track. Most recently, she set her fourth world record in the event, running a 50.65 at the U.S Olympic Trials.

While McLaughlin-Levrone's path to a second gold in Paris was looking relatively clear after the U.S. Trials, Femke Bol is here and ready to give McLaughlin-Levrone quite the challenge.

The Dutch athlete has long since established herself as a force in the 400m hurdles, clinching bronze in Tokyo and silver at the 2022 World Championships. A year later, at the 2023 London Diamond League, Bol stormed to the win in a time of 51.45, becoming the second-fastest woman of all time, and only the third female athlete to ever break the 52-second barrier in 400m hurdles.

Now, with her 50.95 performance at the Resisprint, La Chaux-De-Fonds, the Dutchwoman joins Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the list of female hurdlers to have dipped below the 51-second mark.

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Femke Bol vs Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: head-to-head comparison

While fans are promised a clash between Femke Bol and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the Paris Olympics, the duo have only raced each other twice so far. Their first battle came at the Tokyo Olympics finals, where McLaughlin-Levrone stormed to gold, while Bol settled for bronze 0.5 seconds behind her.

Next, the two faced each other at the 2022 Eugene World Championships, racing at the Hayward Field Track where McLaughlin-Levrone had re-written her world record just a month ago. Unsurprisingly, the American emerged victorious in that fight, with Bol this time claiming silver while trailing her rival by well over a second.

While McLaughlin-Levrone looked like the outright favorite to defend her title at the Paris Olympics, Femke Bol’s personal best and European record performance of 50.95 has suddenly made the women's 400m hurdles race much more competitive.