Following Femke Ball’s 800m debut, Cathal Dennehy analyzes what that run can tell us about the Dutchwoman’s potential and what it might take for her to become a top-level contender in her new class.
As Femke Ball hovered over the line in Metz, his stride seemingly troubled by the wicked acidity of the 800m, commentator Tim Hutchings offered his judgment on one of the most intriguing pivots in sports history.
“It was a great debut,” he said. “The work is done. He’ll learn and build on it.”
Only the harshest of critics could fail to be impressed by Ball’s first run over 800m, winning in a Dutch indoor record of 1:59.07, and Hutchings has been at the sport’s highest level long enough not to be drawn into the hyperbole. “He’s in the pack now and building,” he added. “He will be a real threat.”
What is the risk? It should become clear in the summer.
While there were the usual mixed reactions to his run, most observers were in the same category; But we’ve certainly seen enough to know it’s possible.
The origins of this move can be traced back to 2024. Exactly 18 months ago when Ball crossed the line over 800m in Metz, he was third in the Olympic 400m hurdles final and his attempt to match the scorching pace of Sidney McLaughlin-Levron backfired as he faded and ran late. He hit his head in frustration on the sideline at the Stade de France.
Ball soon told his long-time coach Laurent Mully that he wanted to move up to the 800m in 2025, but, as Mully explains elsewhere in this issue, he persuaded him to give him another year in the 400m hurdles. He duly went unbeaten in his specialty event in 2025 with his second world title in 51.54.
The 800m was announced last October and the athletics world quickly erupted in speculation, with skeptics doubting she would ever win a global medal, while the real Bolivar predicted a world record.
But the gulf he crosses is vast, doubling the distance tilts the balance of performance demands toward aerobics, and Ball still needs to maintain the same sprint speed capability to produce an effective race pace.
Conclusions vary regarding the implementation of an appropriate energy system at 400m and 800m, and this can be highly individual, although the 400m hurdles in this division are significantly closer than the 400m to 800m. A 2010 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that aerobics contributes 43 percent to the 400m hurdles compared to 37 percent in the 400m, meaning Ball should find the transition easier than a true 400m professional.
The 800 meters is at a pivotal inflection point on the athletics spectrum, where Ball essentially straddles the divide between sprinter and middle distance runner; two worlds with very different coaching philosophies and skill sets. It may only be the double distance, but it’s not like the 100m specialist is focusing on the 200m or the half marathoner building up to the marathon.
Ball has spent the last decade specializing in single-lap racing, and now, at age 26, he’s trying to recalibrate his highly trained engine. However, most of the groundwork has already been done. For someone who runs the 400m hurdles under the age of 51 and holds a 400m world record of 49.17, his 200m PB of 22.64 is relatively weak. But it does show that Ball had much stronger aerobics than most of his former competitors. Meuwly’s group is also known to take a higher volume approach to 400m training.
At its highest level, 800m is a terrifyingly difficult puzzle that usually requires considerable trial and error before it can be solved. Talk to world-class operators in the field, and it’s clear that many have experimented with their training over the years, sprinkling in varying amounts of concrete work before discovering which recipe works best.
In addition to an adjusted mix of metabolic conditioning, Ball must develop the mechanical and neuromuscular skills specific to the 800m. With so much variation between the profiles of 800m runners, an individual approach is needed.
“The 400-800m transitions are governed by the limitations created by the athlete’s existing profile, not simply by intention or training,” says Performance Consultant Gareth Sandford, who works with a number of elite coaches to develop support systems for 800m runners, from speed to endurance and everything in between.
“The challenge is to adapt to the event from the reality of the athlete’s profile, not from the models created around other runners,” he adds. “Athletes at this level are not building new engines. They change the way the same motor is expressed. Two athletes can do similar work and achieve very different results because the event asks different questions of their profile.”
That’s why there’s such a wide spectrum, perhaps the widest of any event, in how world-class athletes train for it. Those with a speed profile can only cover 40-60 km per week, while those with an endurance profile can do 100-120 km.
The key for Ball will be to strengthen his weaknesses without undermining his strengths. Meuwly suggested that the bulk of his aerobic work would be done through cross training, with running reserved for more specific workouts. She will no doubt learn a lot from the training of Evelyn Zahlberg, a 50.95-second 400m runner who spent last year at 2:02.97 in the 800m.
At Metz, Ball went 27.4 in the opening lap and 30.0 in the second. The third lap was mistakenly listed as 32.2 in the race splits, but French stats guru PJ Vazel calculated it was actually 30.9, with Ball closing in 30.8. Mulley said the third lap, the slowest, showed he had “a little too much respect” for the 800m and, given how strongly he was finishing, he was likely to attack that stretch much more on the outside.
There is also the matter of mechanics. It’s very early days in his transition, but Metz Ball seemed to run the same way he ran over 400m with his arm low, his arms off his body, similar to McLaughlin-Levron. It’s a noticeable difference to the likes of Keely Hodgkinson or Mary Mora, who run with their arms tucked higher, arms closer to their bodies. Ball moving more like a middle distance runner could also be a factor in this transition.
But how far can he go? It would be a shock if Ball challenged Hodgkinson this season, but the aim is certainly not to do so in 2026 but in 2028. The potential is clearly there. Ball is two seconds faster than Hodgkinson over 400m but clearly has a huge river to overcome over 800m in Britain and world champion Lillian Odira. Still, he has the raw materials to make it happen.
He told European Athletics at the end of last year that he had “a full year to really think about it” before making the switch and saying “mental goodbye to my obstacles”.
But is this really the last goodbye? It’s too early to know where Ball’s ceiling might be over 800 meters, but we’ll know a lot more after the Europeans in August and especially after the World Championships in Beijing next year. If Ball fails to win an 800m medal at the latter, we could see him drop back in distance ahead of Los Angeles 2028.
After all, a 400m-400m hurdles double is unfeasible in Los Angeles, and it seems likely that McLaughlin-Levron will opt for the flat race. With the US superstar no longer competing in the 400m hurdles, an event he has now essentially finished, the path could be clear for Ball to capture the one thing missing from his stellar career: individual Olympic gold.
That remains the ultimate goal, and in another 18 months may be realistic either way. But no matter how he goes, his journey will be fascinating.
