Relay team conquers first Dutch medal at World Athletics Championships with silver | NOW

In the night from Friday to Saturday, the Dutch relay team won silver in the 4×400 meters mixed at the World Championships in the American Eugene. Femke Bol was just short of gold in a great final sprint to give the orange foursome.

The world title was for the Dominican Republic in 3.09.82, which was 0.08 seconds faster than the Netherlands (3.09.90) and the United States (3.10.16) took bronze.

The 22-year-old Bol passed the American final runner Kennedy Simon in the last meters, after which she was just unable to overtake the Dominican Fiordaliza Cofil. Besides Bol, the Dutch team consisted of Liemarvin Bonevacia, Lieke Klaver and Tony van Diepen.

Dutch athletics has already celebrated international success in the 4×400 meters. The men’s team even won silver at the Tokyo Olympics last year and also won the World Relays and the European Indoor Championships.

Bronze seemed the maximum achievable

No medal had yet been won in the relatively new mixed relay event. Bonevacia, Klaver, Bol and Ramsey Angela finished fourth at the Games last year, after which it was successful in Eugene with silver.

In the final at Hayward Field Stadium, third place seemed the maximum achievable. The Dominican Republic and the United States immediately distanced themselves from the rest of the field. Bonevacia, Klaver and Van Diepen were unable to keep up with those two teams.

Also final runner Bol didn’t seem to get any closer, but she accelerated on the last 100 meters. The beautiful final sprint turned out to be just not enough for gold, but the Dutch foursome were more than satisfied with silver.

It is the second ever relay medal of the Netherlands at a World Cup, after the bronze of the men in the 4×100 meters in Paris in 2003.