Femke Broeders-Bol will run her first outdoor 800m at the FBK Games in Hengelo on Sunday, 21 June, organisers confirmed this week. It is her first serious outdoor test over two laps since she stepped away from the 400m hurdles last autumn.
Broeders-Bol, 26, announced the move three weeks after winning her second straight world 400m hurdles title in Tokyo last September. She married Belgian pole vaulter Ben Broeders in March and now competes under her hyphenated name.
Her first attempt at the distance came indoors in Metz on 8 February, where she ran 1:59.07. That time set a Dutch indoor record and met the qualifying standard for the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham. A foot tendon injury then forced her to end her indoor season early. She has since returned to full training at a camp in South Africa.
“I’m really looking forward to being back in Hengelo,” Broeders-Bol said. “It’s always very special to run on Dutch soil, and the switch to the 800m makes it extra special for me.”
Hengelo has been good to her. She has won five gold medals at the FBK Games over the years, three over 400m hurdles and two over the flat 400m.
When she announced her decision to leave the hurdles last October, Broeders-Bol explained the reasoning. “The 400m hurdles has given me unforgettable memories and shaped me into the athlete I am today,” she said. “But I am driven by the need to push my boundaries.”
She added that the new event excited her precisely because it asks different things of her. “The 800m is a completely new challenge, one that excites me because it will require fresh strengths, strategies, and resilience. My ambition is not just to compete, but to reach and succeed at the highest level.”
Her hurdles career left a long paper trail. Broeders-Bol won Olympic gold in the mixed 4x400m relay at Paris 2024 and silver in the women’s 4x400m relay at the same Games. She took bronze in the individual 400m hurdles at both Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. She has broken the world indoor 400m record three times, won 11 European titles across indoor and outdoor competition, and went unbeaten across five straight Diamond League seasons in her old event.
The FBK Games is in its 45th edition this year and her appearance is expected to be one of the headline draws on a meet that regularly attracts top international fields. She was recently photographed on social media with Keely Hodgkinson, the British Olympic 800m champion, though what the two talked about has not been made public.
It is not yet confirmed whether the Hengelo race will be her first outdoor competition of any kind this season.
