This is a piece I missed on February 8th. Stuart Weir wrote a very nice piece on one of our favorites, Femke Bol. Femke ran 1:59.07, then shut down his indoor season as he was bothered by a minor injury. Stewart has written over a million words RunBlogRun:and we appreciate every word and story as he builds history on our sport for a great pitch.
Superbol Sunday
Femke Bol A few months ago he shocked us all when he announced that he was moving up from 400H to 800m this year. He ran his first 800 meters last weekend Metz, France (February 8) winning 1:59.07. According to the European Athletics website, the performance puts her fifth in the world list this year and third in Europe, but of course the race was on February 8 and there haven’t been many races this year. It was a pace race with the pacesetter completing two laps at 56.66. You can watch the race https://youtu.be/yAJb9IHCVY8?t=478
You can also be sure that he will get better. Don’t be surprised to see him challenge for a medal at the 2026 European Championships and 2027 World Championships.
Femke is a remarkable athlete and I have had the privilege of seeing him run on many occasions. One of the most memorable was at the 2022 European Championships in Munich, when he won the 400, 400h and 4X400 steeplechase. Unfortunately, there was no medley 4X400 relay to keep him fully occupied. Then he told me. “I’m not likely to do it again. It was a really good experience and I enjoyed it a lot. It was a huge challenge and amazing that together with my whole team we achieved it. There were some positives in that I didn’t have to run the relay heat, for example, and that the timing had 400 first and then obstacles. But it was very, very much for my body and very mentally, but I really enjoyed it, but I think we see it as a once-in-a-lifetime challenge. It was a very difficult challenge, I achieved it and I should be happy and leave it at that.”
He added a thank you note to the team behind him. “I’m glad that I have good coaches by my side who organize it for me. Last year (2021) I ran a lot before the Olympics, but this year I’m not doing that much, but I trust my coaches and whatever they say, we’ll do.”
There is no doubt that Femke is a wonderful athlete, one of the best of his generation. Plus, he’s such a nice person. I remember running into him in Oregon 2022 World Cup on the university campus. We were going in the same direction and walking together, completely quiet conversation. I have had many mixed zone conversations. always in demand, but always ready to chat with that ability to make you feel like you’re the only person who’s ever asked him that question.
I had a 1 on 1 interview with him a few years ago. People like me don’t often get interviews with people like him, so I asked him why. was his answer “I have seen you a lot. And I know you now. You’re always around and I think that’s really nice because you understand the sport. Do you play a lot of sports? I also enjoy talking to someone like that. I think you really kindly asked Caroline (the agent) and didn’t dismiss her like ‘we have to do it now’ because you stayed polite and patient.”
A brilliant athlete and a lovely person.
