"We always kept showing up and fighting"- Femke Bol recalls Dutch mixed relay team's stunning performance for gold medal at Paris Olympics 2024

Dutch sprinting sensation Femke Bol shared her admiration for her mixed relay team after winning the 4x400m title at the Paris Olympics 2024. Bol's heroics in the anchor leg helped her team win gold at the Summer Games.

The 24-year-old was competing in her second Olympics, and during the 4x400m mixed relay finals, her team was lined up against the American quartet of Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon, and Kaylyn Brown, who had shattered the world record during the heats. Her team, consisting of Eugene Omalla, Isaya Klein Ikkink, and Lieke Klaver, was falling behind the American and British runners, and it was Bol's mastery in the anchor leg as she surged ahead with blistering speed to overtake her rivals and win her first Olympic gold in spectacular fashion.

She ran her split in 47.93 seconds to secure the gold medal in a new European record of 3:07.43. The victory also marked Bol's only gold medal at the Paris Games as she lost the 400m hurdles final to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. The American defended her title with a new world record finish of 50.37 seconds, while Bol finished third with a time of 52.15 seconds behind Anna Cockrell, who took home the silver medal after crossing the finish line in 51.87 seconds. The Dutch prodigy also earned silver in the women's 4x400m relay on Sunday, finishing behind the American team with a time of 3:19.50.

Following her successful Paris Olympics campaign, Femke Bol shared an album of pictures on her Instagram handle. Reflecting on her gold medal victory and expressing her admiration for the team, she wrote:

"OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS . I’m so so so so so proud of this team. Not just the one on the track but also everyone who was on this journey with us. The mixed relay has been quite the rollercoaster these past few years, but we always kept showing up and kept fighting. This time, it brought us gold, team work makes the dream work, Thank you for the support, we are Olympic champions."

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Eugene Omalla praises Femke Bol for her role in mixed relay win at Paris Olympics

Femke Bol and team at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 (Image via Getty)

Femke Bol's teammates were in awe of her speed during the 4x400m mixed relay finals. Applauding Bol's prowess, Eugene Omalla said:

"What can we even say, Femke Bol is once-in-a-lifetime talent," Omalla said. "Someone so special.

He added:

"She has it not just in her legs, not just in her arms, but she has it in her heart and in her head. So, no words for that. Amazing woman," he stated during the press conference.

After winning three medals at the Paris Olympics, Femke Bol has now amassed a total of four Olympic medals, including a bronze in the women's 400m hurdles at the Tokyo Games.