It wasn’t a race in the end.
They weren’t just dotted around, they were gathered together, bright spots in the purple haze of Stade de France. Femke Bol , the Dutch darling, was going to get a rare chance to line up against world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in their preferred event, the 400m hurdles .
Their names – McLaughlin and Bol – are synonymous with the event but because the American’s coach keeps her safely hidden from minor, or even middling, events, they have only shared the track twice.Having clocked an important 50.95 in Switzerland last month, Bol had joined the rare club. There were now two of them. The Dutch could deign to say her name in the same breath as McLaughlin. Just outside the world record time set in June, the American won’t be able to make a mistake, we all thought.
Bol was left dumbfounded in third. Shaking her head in disbelief, she made a beeline for her parents, in need of comfort and consolation.Her Olympics started with a golden moment but her individual campaign ended with a horrible, sinking realisation that she is not living in an era-defining rivalry. She is living in McLaughlin-Levrone’s world.
When others start chopping strides, or doubt their patterns, or simply tie up, she was trusting in her abilities and her form.
2024 Paris 400M 400M HURDLES Athletics Dutch Femke Bol Head To Head Netherlands Olympics 2024
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