Broeders-Bol to compete in the 800 m in a tough test against Werro

Femke Broeders-Bol, who got married in February, wants to start a new chapter and join the world’s elite in the 800 m in the future. “I think she’ll surprise a lot of people in this first month of competition,” her Swiss coach Laurent Meuwly told the AFP news agency.

As a two-time Olympic bronze medalist (2021, 2024) behind the dominant Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and a two-time world champion (2023, 2025) in the 400-meter hurdles, the 26-year-old Dutch athlete announced last fall that she would leave the low hurdles behind and turn to middle-distance running. Eight months later, she is about to compete in her first outdoor 800-meter race in Ostrava.

Patience was and remains key

“The anticipation is high, because it’s been a long time without competitions,” says Laurent Meuwly. “We’re looking forward to the new challenge.” The switch to a new discipline demanded one thing above all else from Broeders-Bol: patience.

She needed patience initially due to a foot injury that cut short her indoor season and limited her to a single 800-meter race at the meeting in Metz. There, she ran 1:59.07 minutes.

Patience was also required when she had to give up running for several weeks to fully recover. “We trained a lot on the bike and on the cross-trainer,” Meuwly describes this phase. Looking back, he sees this period as a blessing in disguise because it allowed his athlete to complete extensive aerobic training.

She also needed patience when learning the specific demands of the 800-meter race. “Since she’s used to always running as fast as possible, she had to force herself to run at slower paces,” her coach explains.

Going up against the best right away

Even in her debut, Broeders-Bol is facing the world’s elite in a discipline that is currently experiencing an extraordinary level of competition. At her side is Fribourg native Audrey Werro, an athlete who, in early June, became the third-fastest runner in history over this distance with a time of 1:53.98 minutes.

“Physically, I’m not worried, and I believe she’ll surprise a lot of people in this first month of competition,” says Meuwly—also from Fribourg. He believes his athlete is capable of a time of around 1:56 minutes in her very first race, “and very quickly 1:55, 1:54.”

On paper, the Dutch athlete possesses exceptional raw speed. Her personal best of 22.64 seconds in the 200m is on par with the level of a European Championship final. Added to this is her indoor world record in the 400m of 49.17 seconds. This makes her nearly two seconds faster than Audrey Werro (51.03) and British Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson (51.14). “For Femke, a time of 56 seconds over 400 meters (the starting pace of the world’s elite over 800 meters) is slow,” emphasizes Meuwly.

Nevertheless, Broeders-Bol still needs to internalize the tactical nuances of the 800-meter race. Unlike in the hurdles, race dynamics, positioning, and behavior within the field play a central role here. This is uncharted territory for the Dutch athlete.

“Femke is very analytical; she watches a lot of races to observe the placings and tactical decisions. She’s very interested in that, but it’s clear that she’s still behind the others in this regard and still has to prove herself,” says her coach.

Will she join the hunt for the world record?

Whether Broeders-Bol can keep up with Werro and Hodgkinson this year remains to be seen. Both are among the most promising contenders in the battle for the oldest world record in track and field: the 1:53.29 set by the Czech Jarmila Kratochvilova in 1983.

“If all three make it to the final in Birmingham (at the European Championships in August), it will be interesting to watch the race strategy,” says Meuwly. “In any case, I hope that this will give us some great races all the way through to Los Angeles 2028.”

After Ostrava, Femke Broeders-Bol will compete on Sunday at the meeting in Hengelo. Next on her schedule is the Diamond League meeting in Paris on June 28.