DIAMOND LEAGUE MAGIC BRINGS WORLD CHAMPION BOL BACK TO LONDON

World champion Femke Bol – who set a European 400m hurdles record at the London Athletics Meet in 2023 (51.45) – will make a welcome return to the London Stadium on Saturday 20 July.

The 24-year-old Dutch athlete is one of sport’s brightest stars. She holds the third quickest 400m hurdles time in history courtesy of her Diamond League record performance in London and was unbeaten in her specialist event throughout 2023.

A bronze medallist at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Bol went on to win double silver at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon (400mH and 4x400m mixed relay) followed by a hat-trick of gold medals at the European Championships (400m, 400mH and 4x400m relay).

She improved further in 2023, winning double gold in the 400m hurdles and women’s 4x400m relay at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest and being crowned Diamond League champion for the third successive year.

Concluding an exceptional winter, she lowered her own world indoor record to take the global 400m title in Glasgow in March 2024 (49.17) – redemption for silver in Belgrade two years earlier – in addition to setting a new national record as part of the Dutch gold medal-winning 4x400m relay quartet.

“I have amazing memories of racing in London last year and I can’t wait to go back,” said Bol who is aiming to defend her European 400mH title in June before she targets her first Olympic gold. “That race meant so much to me and it really gave me confidence ahead of the World Championships. I’d been wanting to run a 51-second race ever since Tokyo (where she ran 52.03) and the atmosphere in the stadium was incredible, it really drove me on to achieve that. I hope I can experience that magical feeling again this year and use it as a springboard for success at the Olympic Games.”

The London Athletics Meet – which will see the return of the world’s best athletes following a record-breaking sell-out in 2023 – is the tenth meeting of the 2024 Wanda Diamond League series. It is the UK’s biggest one-day athletics event and takes place six days before the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, making it the perfect prelude to Paris.

The Wanda Diamond League series comprises 15 meetings in total across four different continents and started with Xiamen (China) on 20 April. It concludes with a single final across two days in Brussels (13-14 September). Each of the 14 series meetings will be broadcast globally in a live two-hour programme.

Tickets to this year’s London Athletics Meet start from just £23 and are on track to sell out in record time. For more information about the event and to secure your place visit HERE.