Day five (11 June) of the 2024 European Athletics Championships was a day of smashing records as Karsten Warholm and Femke Bol broke the men’s and women’s 400m hurdles championship records, respectively, to take gold and land on top of the podium at the historic Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Bol also posted the fastest time in the world thus far this year with her blistering time of 52.49 seconds, topping reigning Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone‘s world-leading 52.70 that was posted in May.
It looked like a race between her and the clock and she flew off the blocks, as she held a steady lead and then pulled ahead in the final straight to finish over a second and a half ahead of Italy’s Louise Maraval, who took the silver medal.
“I worked hard for these championships and I arrived here in good shape, I believe I can be even better at the Olympics,” Bol said.
“It’s never easy, you can never take anything for granted, which is why it’s important to stay focused on myself and not think about what’s happening around me,” she said, adding that it was harder to do in an atmosphere that was “amazing.”
For reigning Olympic and world champion Warholm, it was his third consecutive continental title and he showed no mercy to his opponents as he took off to immediately take control of the race. He held his lead until he crossed the finish line in a time of 46.98, breaking the continental record he set in 2022.
The hat trick comes after his third world championship win in the same event last year and ahead of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, where he has once again, proved to be a force to be reckoned with going in.
“Whenever I walk on the track, I want to accomplish my goals. But today, Sibilio also had a very good race. I have seen that Italians have a great season thanks to these championships so I knew that also today, I had to fight very hard. I was very sure that he would be ready for anything and I could not make any mistake today,” Warholm said to media, following his win.