STOCKHOLM, Sweden (June 27) Olympic bronze medalist Femke Bol will continue her preparations for next month’s World Athletics Championships when she lines up in the 400m hurdles at the 2022 BAUHAUS-Galan – Stockholm Diamond League Meeting on Thursday (30). She won this competition last year with a quick time of 52.37 seconds, which is the second-fastest among her career bests.
Bol, who is ranked No. 2 in the world this season with a year-best time of 52.61 seconds, will be hunting her third successive Diamond League victory this season, following her wins in Rome and Oslo earlier this month.
The Dutch star has been improving steadily in the event so far this season since opening her campaign with a 53.94 seconds performance at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games 2022 in Hengelo on 6 June.
After that run, the European Indoor Championships 400m champion ran 53.02 secs to win at the Rome Diamond League on 9 June before going even faster with her sub-53 seconds performance at the Bislett Games in Oslo on 16 June.
Femke Bol is No. 2 this year behind Sydney McLaughlin
The time is ranked No. 2 among her career-best performances and the 22-year-old will be hoping to produce something quicker this week in the Swedish capital.
McLaughlin, the Olympic champion in Tokyo last summer, leads the world with her world record 51.41 seconds performance at the 2022 USATF Championships at Hayward Field in Oregon this past weekend.
Olympic finalist Anna Ryzhykova of Ukraine will also start in the women’s 400m hurdles at the 2022 Stockholm Diamond League Meeting where she will be aiming to improve on her current season-best of 54.50 secs.
In fact, at her best Ryzhykova is a 52.96 secs performer and she achieved that time at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium when finishing third behind Femke Bol and USA’s Shamier Little in a very tightly contested race last year.
Another Olympic finalist from Ukraine, Viktoriya Tkachuk, will also feature again this season after finishing 5th at last year’s meeting in 54.39 secs. Tkachuk enters this race with a season-best of 54.81.
Elsewhere, American 2015 world bronze medalist Cassandra Tate, Great Britain’s Jessie Knight, and Jamaica’s reigning world bronze medalist Rushell Clayton will compete in the event as they continue their respective preparations for the world championships from 15-24 July.
Stockholm Diamond League Meeting Women 400 meter Hurdles Start list
BOL, Femke NED 52.61, 52.03
CLAYTON, Rushell JAM 54.20, 53.74
FOLORUNSO, Ayomide Temilade ITA 54.60, 54.60
KNIGHT, Jessie GBR 54.09, 54.09
LEHIKOINEN, Viivi FIN 54.96, 54.96
RYZHYKOVA, Anna UKR 54.50 52.96
TATE, Cassandra USA 54.81, 54.01
TKACHUK, Viktoriya UKR 54.81, 53.76
PHOTO: Dutch start Femke Bol in the women’s 400m hurdles. Photo: Hardloopfotos.nl Redactie
