Never before has an athlete won a European gold medal in both the 400m and 400m hurdles. On Wednesday, Bol conquered gold in the 400 meters in a particularly fast time of 49.44 seconds. In the 400m hurdles, she was the towering favorite. Normally no one would be able to keep her from that unique double, because Bol is by far the best in the round with the ten hash marks in Europe this season.
She won in a time of 52.67 which was a championship record. She improved the 52.92 of the Russian Natalya Anchuk from 2010. Bol captured silver in the 400 meters hurdles at the World Cup in Eugene last month. Last year she won bronze at the Olympics. She holds the European record with a time of 52.03.
“I’m so happy, and secretly a little relieved,” she said shortly after her race at the NOS. “When I crossed the finish line, my disbelief hit me. They are two so different parts, except you sour terribly. Everyone thinks she’ll do it for a while, but I actually did it now. But somehow it also provides some security. I just need to put in a decent race, and that was it. It just went well. I certainly didn’t regret going full for that double. I’m so proud of it, but I don’t know if I’ll do it again. And if I could do it again…”
Clover next to podium at 200 meters
Lieke Klaver finished fifth in her first major final in the 200 meters. The podium was not yet within reach for the 23-year-old sprinter from Enkhuizen. She clocked 22.88, slightly above her personal best of 22.66.
The European title went to Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji, who rushed to gold in 22.32 and dethroned Dina Asher-Smith as European champion. The British now took the silver in 22.43. The Danish Ida Karstoft sprinted to bronze in 22.72. British Jodie Williams finished fourth and was just ahead of Klaver in 22.85.
Klaver also ran the final of the 400 meters at the European Championships. She finished sixth in it. At the World Championships in Eugene, she surprisingly took fourth place. She will compete in the 4×400 meter relay on Saturday, in which the Dutch quartet is a candidate for gold.
Stomach cramps break up Van Diepen
Tony van Diepen did not make the final of the 800 meters. He finished sixth in his run of the semifinals and was eliminated. The first three of the two heats went straight, plus two athletes based on their time.
Van Diepen did well in the race and was in second place at the exit of the last corner. But in the final meters, his strength drained and he sank back. Spaniard Mariano Garcia won the series in 1.46.52, ahead of Briton Jake Wightman (1.46.61) and Irishman Mark English (1.46.66). With 1.47.64, Van Diepen remained far above his personal best of 1.44.14, which he set this season. At the World Championships in Eugene, the athlete from Heerhugowaard was also eliminated in the semi-finals.
“I didn’t feel well, had to go to the toilet five minutes before the start with stomach cramps,” said a disappointed Van Diepen at the NOS. “I have eaten something wrong or it is something else, in any case I am not comfortable in my body. I made the most of it, but I clearly lacked the power. I knew that I could still make it to the final with fifth place based on my time, so I really fought those last meters, but it was not possible.”
Van Diepen has a reputation in the 400 meters and has already won medals with the relay team in the 4×400 meters, but in the 800 meters it does not succeed in breaking through to the world top. With the men’s team he won Olympic silver in Tokyo in the 4×400 meters, gold at World Relays and the European Indoor Championships and this spring bronze in the 4×400 at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade. At the World Championships in Eugene, together with Liemarvin Bonevacia, Klaver and Bol, he took silver in the mixed 4×400 meters.