Femke Broeders-Bol has shifted distance, but not her ability to run fast. The Dutch athlete, one of the major stars of world athletics in recent years, has left behind the 400 meters hurdles to tackle a new challenge in 2026: the 800 meters.
And her results have been spectacular. All of her 800-meter races this season have been under two minutes, from the 1:59.07 indoor time in February to her latest 1:54.71 at Weltklasse Zürich on August 27. A mark that places her as the ninth-fastest woman in history over 800 meters.
A training pace far from her personal bests
What is striking is that her aerobic training paces sit well away from what her competitive performances might imply. Bol has revealed that her long runs are performed roughly at 5:30 per kilometer, while her threshold pace hovers around 4:20 per kilometer.
These are paces that, considered in isolation, do not seem typical for an athlete capable of running 800 meters in 1:54.71. But that is precisely one of the training’s keys: not every kilometer has to be fast. Easy runs and threshold work serve different functions within a plan that blends endurance and speed.
Femke Broeders-Bol revealed today that her Long run pace is 5:30 per km and threshold pace is around 4:20 per km pic.twitter.com/ItuFybZXX9
— Preet Majithia (@preet_athletics) August 27, 2026
From 1:59 to 1:54 in seven months
Bol began the year with a 1:59.07 indoors and has gradually solidified her adaptation to the distance. In June she already ran 1:57.13 in Ostrava and 1:57.41 in Hengelo, before dipping under 1:56 in Paris, ahead of the Birmingham European Championships.
In fact, her progression since the race in Paris is remarkable, showing tremendous solidity over the distance:
Werro, still a step ahead
Yet, despite her spectacular progression, Bol remains a step behind the summer’s leading 800-meter runner: Audrey Werro. The Swiss athlete has achieved something extraordinary: winning every race she has contested this summer and dipping under 1:54 three times, increasingly threatening Jarmila Kratochvílová’s historic world record of 1:53.28. A mark Werro pursues relentlessly and which Bol also aspires to reach.
Her upcoming confrontations are likely to come on September 5 in the Brussels Diamond League final and, a few days later, at the Ultimate World Championships in Budapest, held from September 11 to 13. Two stages where the Bol–Werro rivalry could provide one of the sport’s main attractions as the season nears its end.
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Dylan Holloway