Aug 19, 2023 at 11:36 PM Update: 7 minutes ago
Femke Bol thinks it’s terrible that the Dutch team on Saturday in the 4×400 meters mixed because of her fall next to a World Cup medal and perhaps even gold. Bol crashed just before the finish in Budapest, while running neck-and-neck with American Alexis Holmes.
“I have no idea what happened. Maybe I was shocked by the American. Maybe I just couldn’t get my legs together,” Bol was still puzzled half an hour after her fall.
The 23-year-old from Amersfoort got up very quickly and crossed the line in third, but that didn’t count. Bol was no longer holding the relay baton, because it flew out of her hands when she fell.
The gold was in a world record time (3:08.80) for the United States. Great Britain took silver and the bronze went to the Czech Republic.
Due to the fall of Bol, an otherwise excellent race of the Dutch team, which took silver at the World Cup in Eugene last year, came to a bizarre end. Liemarvin Bonevacia, Lieke Klaver and Isaya Klein Ikkink ensured that the Netherlands took the lead in the National Athletics Center after three rounds.
The moment of Femke Bol’s fall. Photo: Getty Images
‘I’m really bummed like a plug’
Slot runner Bol was able to finish it, but she was already struggling before her fall. “It has never happened that I was the first to get the baton. The rest of the team ran so well. I am normally super strong in the last meters, but not this time. And because of that fall we could completely forget about gold.”
“I’m really disappointed. It’s terrible if this happens to you individually, but now it’s also terrible for the team.”
Bizarrely enough, Sifan Hassan also lost a medal and perhaps gold on Saturday evening due to a crash just before the finish. The Dutch competed with the Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay for the world title in the 10,000 meters, until she crashed 20 meters before the line.
The baton flew out of her hands when Femke Bol fell. Photo: Getty Images
‘I didn’t think: I’m going to do the same as Sifan’
Bol and the other relay runners saw things go wrong with Hassan just before their final. “I didn’t think: I’m going to do the same as Sifan,” said Bol with a smile. “But it happened to me too. We are all human, it turns out. But it is very sour. I felt stronger than ever.”
It appears that Bol suffered no major physical damage from her fall. “I don’t feel it now, but we have to wait and see.”
The next match this WC of Bol is Monday. She then runs in the series of the 400 meter hurdles. She is the absolute favorite for the world title in that part.
2023-08-19 21:36:53
#Femke #Bol #puzzled #fall #terrible #team #Sports
