PARIS — Dutch runner Femke Bol set a new world record in the women’s indoor 400m with a time of 49.26sec which broke the old mark set 41 years ago.
The 22-year-old, competing at the Dutch national championships in Apeldoorn, bettered the 49.59sec of Czech runner Jarmila Kratochvilova in March 1982.
Bol, a world and Olympic 400m hurdles medallist, had also set a world best of 36.86sec in the rarely-run 300m hurdles in Ostrava last year.
“It was because of all the fans here that I ran this record,” Bol said after her race.
“Never have I ever seen that many people here. When I crossed the line I knew that the record was mine, because of the noise that the crowd made,” she added according to AFP.
Elsewhere, Daryll Neita and Reece Prescod claimed the women’s and men’s 60m titles respectively on day one of the UK Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham.
Neita – who won 100m bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and European Championships – finished in a time of 7.17 seconds to clinch the gold medal.
The 26-year-old beat second-placed Asha Philip by four-tenths of a second, while Alisha Rees (7.30) pipped Joy Eze (7.31) to the bronze medal.
Prescod ran 6.54 seconds, his fastest time of the year, to beat Jeremiah Azu and Eugene Amo-Dadzie.
Both Neita and Prescod had both recorded personal bests with respective 60m wins in Berlin last week and produced two more impressive performances at the Utilita Arena.
Neita said: “I came here to get the gold and run some decent times, which I think I did today.
“It was good to practice what I will do at the Europeans, three rounds in one day and make sure I get my body ready. I feel really good. Expect fast times.”
Fellow Londoner Prescod added: “I ran a personal best this year and came out a national champion.
“It has been a really good day at the office. First run was cool, second run had a bit more fire and I brought a bit more heat in the finals.”
The top two athletes in each event in Birmingham will be selected for next month’s European Indoor Championships in Istanbul.
David King and Cindy Sember won gold in the 60m hurdles. King ran 7.62secs for his third British indoor title, while Sember edged out Marli Jessop and Alicia Barrett in a time of 8.10secs.
Charlie Myers jumped 5.05 metres to win the men’s pole vault title and Jade Ive claimed victory in the women’s event by clearing 4.35m.
Reynold Banigo produced a winning leap of 7.85m to equal his personal best and claim the men’s long jump title.
Mary Elcock won the women’s triple jump. Her best jump of 12.71m was matched by Lily Hulland, but Elcock clinched gold on countback.
Elcock said: “This is my first indoor champs and I have only been doing triple jump for a year, so it’s been ‘jumping’ in the deep end!”
Elsewhere, the men’s pole vault gold went to Charlie Myers (5.05m), with the women’s crown going to Jade Ive (4.35m), while the 60m hurdles titles were won by Cindy Sember (8.10) and David King (7.62).
The men’s long jump saw Reynold Banigo equal his personal indoor best of 7.85m to finish first, while in the women’s triple jump, Mary Elcock and Lily Hulland both posted 12.71m, but the former won the gold on countback.
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