Femke Bol has opened up on her decision to switch from the 400m hurdles to the 800m, saying she felt ready for a new challenge after achieving almost everything she had dreamed of in the hurdles.The Dutch star made the transition towards the end of last year, closing a hugely successful chapter in the 400m hurdles after establishing herself as arguably the second-greatest athlete in the event behind two-time Olympic champion and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.Download our Mozzart Sport App for more newsBol had been fully committed to the 400m hurdles since 2019, winning Olympic bronze medals at Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024, as well as World Championship gold at Budapest 2023 and Tokyo 2025. She also won European Championship titles in 2022 and 2024.##NAJAVA_MECA_9991903##Her personal best of 50.95 seconds is the European record and makes her the second-fastest woman in history behind McLaughlin-Levrone.But after the Paris Olympics, Bol and her coach began reassessing her career, eventually deciding that it was time for a fresh challenge.“I think after the Olympics, you start to re-evaluate everything. Look at the past years, look at the upcoming years. And it was a thought that came to my coach and me at the same time of also wanting to go to the 800m,” Bol said.Veteran coach calls for new methods after Ethiopians dominate Berlin MarathonThe idea was not entirely new to her, but her intense focus on the hurdles had previously prevented her from seriously considering it.“I think it was there sometimes, but I always was so focused on the hurdles that I didn't take a lot of consideration in it, and I think I had a full year to really think about it. And also mentally, I think, say goodbye to my hurdles, and I really feel like it's a good time,” she continued.Bol said the decision was driven by a desire for a new training stimulus and racing experience rather than simply moving away from the physical demands of the hurdles.“I also really feel ready for new impulse, new kind of training, new kind of racing, and that makes me really excited,” she said.Inside Keely Hodgkinson's high-tech speed suit banned by OlympicsThe 800m presents a radically different challenge. The event combines speed, endurance and tactical racing, requiring athletes to sustain a punishing pace over two laps.Bol acknowledged that the switch comes with an element of uncertainty but believes the timing is right while she remains physically and mentally fresh.“The switch feels really, really nice, really exciting, also really scary. I'm still young. I'm mentally and physically feeling really fit, and it's, it's a really, really big challenge. That's also why I want to do it while I still feel at my best,” she remarked.Her decision also comes as the women's 800m continues to produce historically fast performances.Karura Race attracts over 1,000 runners ahead of Nairobi MarathonJarmila Kratochvílová's 1:53.28 world record, set in 1983, remains at the top of the all-time list, while Nadezhda Olizarenko's 1:53.43 sits second. Switzerland's Audrey Werro moved to third all-time with 1:53.70 in August 2026.Pamela Jelimo remains fourth on the list with her national record of 1:54.01, followed by South Africa's Caster Semenya at 1:54.25 and Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson at 1:54.33.Ana Fidelia Quirot, reigning world champion Lilian Odira, Bol and Olga Mineyeva complete the top 10, with Bol's 1:54.71 standing as a remarkable mark given her previous specialisation in the hurdles.For Bol, however, the move is about more than chasing times.“I do think I achieved pretty much everything I could dream of on the 400m hurdles, except for Olympic gold,” she said. “I won this with a mixed relay, but not on the 400m hurdles with that,” she said.She also believes she left the event having fulfilled much of her potential, particularly after breaking the 51-second barrier.“I also think I really achieved an amazing time running sub-51 again, running 51.5, also at the World Championships. It's something I'm really proud of, and I think I've just felt ready for a new chapter, to try something; it's exciting, it's scary, but it's mostly really exciting for me to try something completely different, and something which also, I think, connects with the strength I had on the 400m hurdles,” she revealed.How women’s 800m went from banned to one of track’s biggest eventsBol's transition is not unprecedented. Several accomplished 400m hurdlers have also tested themselves over two laps.Lashinda Demus, the 2012 Olympic champion, had a 52.47 personal best in the 400m hurdles and later ran 2:07.49 for 800m. Russia's Irina Privalova, who clocked 53.02 at the 2000 Olympics, ran 2:09.40 over 800m three years later.Marina Stepanova, the 1986 European champion, also moved between the events, progressing from an 800m time of 1:59.8 in 1980 to a 52.94 400m hurdles mark six years later.More recently, Shamier Little, the 2023 World Championship silver medallist, has combined the two events, boasting a 52.39 personal best over the hurdles and a 2:04.39 800m best. Heptathlon world champion Anna Hall has also recorded 54.42 for the 400m hurdles and 2:01.23 for the 800m.Seventeen-year-old American Natalie Dumas is another emerging athlete showing promise across both distances. The New Jersey high school senior ran 55.99 for the 400m hurdles, 51.14 for 400m and 2:00.11 for 800m at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor meet in June.World record attempt comes at cost as Assefa faces six-month layoffBol's transition therefore places her in a small group of athletes attempting to bridge the demanding worlds of the 400m hurdles and 800m.She has also been a key member of the Netherlands' 4x400m relay teams, collecting five global medals across the women's and mixed relays. Her future relay commitments will depend on the schedules of individual championships.