NOS Sport•vandaag, 11:55
World champion Bol still sees areas for improvement: ‘I never think: everything is perfect’
Olympic gold, that’s what it’s all about for Femke Bol this year. In the warmth of Stellenbosch, South Africa, coaches Laurent Meuwly and Bram Peters work with the world champion to find ways to make her run even faster in the 400 meter hurdles. Because that, the trio knows, is necessary for an Olympic title.
In her favorite discipline, 23-year-old Bol is the second fastest woman in the world. Only world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (50.68) has ever been faster. The American, who did not participate in the last World Cup, will most likely also become her biggest rival in the battle for Olympic gold in August.
Bol, who raised her own top time to 51.45 in 2023 with a phenomenal race in London, is convinced that she can beat the defending champion in Paris.
Best race run
“If I stand there at the start and think I’m running for second place, I’m not going to win anyway,” Bol explains her attitude for the Olympic season. “I don’t know what her form will be like later, I don’t know what my form will be like. We both have to run our best race at that moment. I want to do everything I can to win in Paris.”
ANP
Together with head coach Meuwly and Peters, she is working on improving her 400 meter hurdles. Because there are certainly still things that could be improved. An analysis of McLaughlin’s world record race and the race in which Bol ran the European record yielded interesting information.
Peters mainly looks at the data. “We are trying to make a deep dive here. How are we going to take the next step? From 51.4 seconds to a little faster. From the starting block to hurdle 1, Femke normally runs in 6.4 seconds. We structurally want that under 6 .3. There is still an easy win, but it should not be at the expense of her strength, her last part of the race.”
Different style
For example, with her fantastic finish, Bol helped the women’s relay team in Budapest to the world title, to everyone’s surprise. “You can’t just copy a world record, but you have to look at how you can gain a few hundredths of a second,” says Meuwly.
Bol and McLaughlin have different running styles. “McLaughlin leaves quickly and then continues at a constant pace. She accelerates again in the last 200 meters,” says Meuwly.
“Femke is currently faster between 100 and 200 meters and just as fast on the last 100 meters. That is why we are working on the two corners here. There is still room for improvement for Femke.”
If I don’t know at the start whether McLaughlin can beat it, then the chance of me winning is small.
Femke Bol
Investing in weaker points
“We have figured out how that works. We know that now, but we have actually also seen my weaker points,” says Bol about the change process. “But you are always weighing up: how much are we going to invest in the weaknesses, because we also want me to remain good at the things I am good at.”
“Last year it turned out to be quite difficult to pass hurdle seven in a rhythm of fourteen paces. I am now achieving that. It is a perfect pace rhythm for me. I still have to get used to the fact that I have to switch to fifteen steps,” says the world champion.
NOS
All the tinkering must lead to a golden race in Paris. “When I stand at the start of the Olympic Games, I have to stand there with the feeling that I can win,” she looks ahead.
“Because no matter how good McLaughlin is, that is the only way I can win. If I don’t know whether I can beat her at the start, then the chance that I will win is small. It will soon be the time to get out of my comfort zone “I want to do everything I can to win. And if she is better, then she is simply better. Then I am very happy with my second place.”
2024-01-22 10:55:49
#moment #comfort #zone
