THE HAGUE, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Dutch runner Femke Bol lowered the indoor women's 400 meters world record during the Dutch Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn on Sunday.
23-year-old Bol won the national title in 49.24 seconds, 0.02s faster than her result at the National Championships last year, when she smashed the 41-year-old previous world record of 49.59 set by Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova.
Bol stayed ahead of her friend and rival Lieke Klaver who finished second in 50.10 seconds. The two Dutch athletes lead the world indoor rankings this season, with the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow coming up in two weeks.
In addition, Bol holds the European title over 400 meters both indoors and outdoors. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she captured a bronze medal in the 400m hurdles, behind Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad of the United States, before clinching gold at last year's World Championships in Budapest. ■
