The RISE of Femke Bol: 400m Hurdles World Record?

Femke Bol, now the second fastest 400-meter hurdler in history, is a determined female athlete who has been running phenomenally this season. Her time is one that only two other women have ever achieved. Bol is closing in on Jamaica right at the finish line, and she's done it. Femke Bol, a middle-distance sprinter and hurdler from the Netherlands, whose journey to athletic mastery did not initially predict her current level of success, has risen to the top of her field.

During her adolescence, Bol was accident-prone, breaking her arm twice. To prevent a third break, a doctor suggested the unconventional solution of practicing the Japanese martial art, judo. Bol tried judo for a while and might have even competed in it at some point, but she had an enduring craving for athletics that she eventually gave into, joining a youth athletics team in her home country, AV Triathlon.