Femke Bol to make 800m debut in Metz on Sunday: preview & how to watch

One of the most fascinating storylines of the 2026 track season will begin on Sunday when the Netherlands’ Femke Bol makes her 800-meter debut at the Meeting Metz Moselle Athlélor Crédit Mutuel, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meet in Metz, France.

The 25-year-old Bol, the two-time defending world champion and second-fastest woman in history in the 400-meter hurdles, announced her intention to switch to the 800 meters in October. Bol owns personal bests of 50.95 in the 400 hurdles, 49.17 in the 400 (a world indoor record), and 1:05.63 in the 500 (another world indoor record) but has never raced beyond 500 meters.

Bol told Dutch outlet NOS in January that her debut would come “when we see I’m ready.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m ready for a super time, but when we see I’ve trained all aspects and I’m not lagging behind anywhere,” Bol said.

After a winter training camp in South Africa, Bol and her coach Laurent Meuwly have decided the time is now to test her fitness. She will race the 800 on Sunday in Metz and the 600 on February 19 in Lievin.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics

Bol will face a solid field in Metz, which includes 2024 European outdoor silver medalist Gabriela Gajanova of Slovakia (1:58.22 pb) and two other 1:58 performers from Switzerland in Lore Hoffman (1:58.29 pb) and Valentina Rosamilia (1:58.64 pb). In fact, of the six women in the field, Bol is the only one who has never broken 2:00. But Bol told NOS she is “not afraid to fail”

“I’m not living in a fairy tale,” Bol said. “It’s an illusion that I can immediately compete with the best in the 800 and win. That will take time; I just have to see if I get there.”

The automatic qualification standard for the World Indoor Championships is 2:00.90, though Meuwly told De Telegraaf she is unlikely to run that meet.

Metz women’s 800m entries

Gabriela Gajanova, Slovakia 1:58.22 pb
Lore Hoffman, Switzerland 1:58.29 pb
Valentina Rosamilia, Switzerland 1:58.64 pb
Smilla Kolbe, Germany 1:59.02 pb
Marta Zenoni, Italy 1:59.45 pb
Femke Bol, Netherlands debut
Anna Gryc, Poland (pacer)

How to watch

Bol’s race is at 17:46 Central European Time on Sunday, which is 11:46 a.m. Eastern Standard Time in the USA.

If you’re in the USA: FloTrack has the rights.

If you’re in the rest of the world: European Athletics is streaming the race here. Note: This feed will be geoblocked in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the USA. Need a VPN? Use the VPN LetsRun.com uses.