Breaking: Femke Bol is moving to 800m IMMEDIATELY

This is a brave move from Bol & her coach...but...what better season to experiment that 2026, with no majors.

I spoke to coach Laurent about this a few months ago, and suggested Bol try more flat 400s & the 800m (and Klaver do this 200m) and he said "watch this space". Well, here we are!

Bol could easily have stuck with the 400mh but moving to an event that has jeopardy, relies on tactics as much as ability, and is currently at a super high standard with multiple talents...wow, I am impressed.

What will be annoying is if SML does the 400m flat in LA....Bol could have got that 400mh Olympic gold! But her coach feels she can do the same in the 800m, and mentally she needs a new challenge.

Her 500m WI best shows she has endurance. She has 11.4/22.6 speed, as well as 49.1 over 400m...this is going to be extremely interesting.

She obviously can run an incredible 400 but I always felt that 400 hurdlers would be best at the 500-600 if it were a “real” event. And she doesn’t have incredible 200 speed - more strength based anyway. So with her 47.x relay speed I think she could “easily” run 1:55 at worst

Here is her announcement on instagram reels:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPoiomNjA1V/?igsh=eG0yYXlmemN5OWZw

She’ll be decent but her chances of winning will decrease. At first I thought she would be doing some like this because she was getting tired of getting beaten by Syd but even after she does the required work she would still do better vs Syd than the top 800 women. I like Bol and hope she does well and proves me wrong.

I respect that she is trying to challenge herself. She has the pack experience from all the relays. Excited to see what she can run.

Interesting move. In my opinion, Bol has always been someone who needs a plan, and deviating from it will mess with her head. Since the 800 has so many variables and other runners ruining what you had planned, I wonder if she can adapt quickly enough. But maybe that's also part of the challenge she's looking for.

I mean she is two time 400mH World champion. She already have olympic medal in 400mH, relay and mixed relays.

She is not going to be beat Sydney in 400mH at LA. Atleast in 800m she can give it a chance to see how it goes.

Wow! This must be the the most significant change of event that a top tier athlete has ever done. Has any other world or Olympic champion so drastically changed event while still at their peak?

It’s also interesting that she is doing this now when it seems like Syd is going to be concentrating more on the 400. I also expect Syd to start running the 200.

Who is the heir apparent to be the queen of the 400h now?

Massive! Hodgkinson to be one of the best 800 runners never to win Worlds? (Though arguably, do you need one when you've got Olympic gold ha!)

As an ex 400m who dabbled in the 800 a little bit, I can firmly say F that S---. That extra lap is brutal! There is no hell like that 3rd 200.

Your translation says 800 meter hurdles. It's just the flat 800, though, right?

Dalilah Muhammad has withdrawn her retirement paperwork.

Ehh yes, that's a translation error.

I typed up a lot just to erase it all. This is just really cool for so many different reasons, and supports and highlights everything that fans have loved about her for the past 4 plus years. Pour on the adjectives. She is all of them. The good ones I mean.

Battles between Jones, Cockrell, and rising star Zapletalova? At least the Diamond Leagues will be less predictable now.

After worlds, JG said that Dalilah had insinuated there was more to come.

She's going to eat it. Tall with that long smooth stride and probably the perfect mix of V02max and lactate tolerance. I Cannot wait to see it!

Let's be clear here also; this was obviously not a decision taken lightly, and not without some training evidence to back it up. Bol has been doing a LOT of over distance work, but in particular these last two winter seasons. She was also separated from her female training partners on endurance days these last seasons, and instead ran with the men.

I'm anticipating she might ease herself in with a 600m first, but who knows. She might go all-in from day 1. Meuwly had Eveline Saalberg run 800s this year to improve her 400m endurance and she ran the event 9 times, as well as a couple of 600s. But she was straight in at 800m indoors in her opening race.

Consider that 52.66/ 54 second 400/400H Heike Meissner ran a 1:59; that 51.1/ 56.1 400/400H Linda Kisabaka ran 1:58; that 23.0/49.4 runner Jearl Miles-Clarke ran 1:56....I am pretty sure a 11.4/ 22.6 / 49.1/ 50.9/ 1:05 100/200/400/400h/500i runner in Bol can run 1:55