Femke Bol will not compete in the 4×400 meter mixed relay on Sunday, the closing event at the European Athletics Team Championships in Madrid. The Dutch athlete wants to avoid overexertion and will return home.
Bol will prepare for the upcoming Diamond League competitions (Monaco and London). There, she will return to her favorite event: the 400 meter hurdles. The Athletics Federation has announced that it was already planned that Bol would not run the relay.
The 25-year-old Bol impressed on Friday in the 400 meter flat in Madrid. Bol sprinted to victory in 49.48 and a new track record. She was only four hundredths above her personal outdoor record (49.44).
“It is difficult,” Bol told De Telegraaf in Madrid about her decision to leave the Dutch team. “But I also think it’s nice if others get a chance to run the mixed relay.”
For Bol, the season is mainly focused on the World Championships in September in Tokyo. That tournament will take place from September 13 to 21.
Thanks in part to the excellent Femke Bol, the Netherlands is leading in the championship at the European Championships for countries. The tournament in Madrid, where the best sixteen countries meet, lasts until Sunday.