"It's too much in Olympic year" - Femke Bol prioritizes Paris Olympics 2024 as she skips 400m at European Championships

Dutch sprinter and hurdler Femke Bol recently revealed that she chose not to attempt the 400m event at the 2024 European Championships because she believed that it wasn’t a wise decision to compete with the 2024 Paris Olympics approaching.

In the last edition of the European Championships, which took place in Munich, Bol clinched gold medals in the 400m and 400m hurdles and powered the Netherlands women’s 4x400m relay team to victory. There, she achieved a national record time of 49.44 seconds in the 400m and set a championship record of 52.67 seconds in the 400m hurdles.

Recently, in an interview with FloTrack, on being asked why she didn’t compete in both 400m and 400m hurdles like she did during the last edition, Femke Bol responded:

“I said once and never again, most likely. But, yeah, no, it's too much especially in Olympic year to try this.”

She then spoke about the women’s 400m finals, which saw a nail-biting contest between Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek (48.98s) and Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke (49.07s) as the Polish athlete clocked a European lead and national record to win the event. The two-time World Champion Bol stated:

“When I saw yesterday's final, it's a good thing I didn't try. I don't think I would have succeeded.”

Femke Bol participated in the 400m hurdles and women’s and mixed 4x400m relay events at the 2024 European Athletics Championships. She bagged the gold in the individual hurdles event, registering a championship record time of 52.49 in the finals. This dominant performance by hers was also the world-lead performance for the year 2024 in the distance.

She also clinched the gold and bronze being a member of the Dutch team's women's and mixed 4x400m relay teams at the tournament.

Femke Bol’s 2024 season so far

Femke Bol of Team Netherlands poses for a photo with the scoreboard after setting a new World Record and winning the Women's 400 Metres Final on Day Two of the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 2024 at Emirates Arena on March 02, 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Femke Bol began her 2024 season with an aim to become the world indoor champion in the 400m which she achieved with a world record time of 49.17 seconds at the 2024 World Indoor Athletics Championships.

She played an instrumental role in helping the Netherlands qualify for the Paris Olympics in the 4x400m mixed relay at the 2024 World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas. She also led the team in winning the silver medal in the same event.

The Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist opened her 400m hurdles outdoor campaign at the Stockholm Diamond League where she secured a comprehensive victory in a time of 53.07 seconds.