Bol Breaks Her Own 400 Meters Record; Holloway Matches His Sea-Level Best And Extends Streak; Julien Alfred Wins The 60 For St. Lucia's First Global Medal

By David Woods for DyeStat

Kim Spir PHOTOS

INTERVIEWS

GLASGOW, Scotland – As with Ryan Crouser and Mondo Duplantis, we are getting to the point with Femke Bol and Grant Holloway that they compete against themselves and no one else.

Don’t think so?

Bol set a world record in the 400 meters and Holloway effectively tied his sea-level world record in the 60-meter hurdles Saturday night at the World Athletics Indoor Championships.

It is the third time Bol has lowered that record. Holloway extended his 10-year streak to 76 consecutive victories in the 60-meter hurdles, equaling his championship record of 7.29 seconds. Only time faster is the world record of 7.27 he set Feb. 16 at nearly 5,000 feet of altitude in Albuquerque, N.M.

Heading into Sunday’s final session, the United States leads in gold medals (four) and total medals (nine). Next is Italy with four medals, followed by Jamaica and the Netherlands with three each.

Bol, the 24-year-old Dutchwoman, clocked 49.17 to lower the record of 49.24 she set Feb. 18. Moreover, she raced her third 400 in 35 hours. She could earn another gold Sunday in the 4x400 relay.

Bol ran the first 200 in 23.61 and second in 25.56.

“Once you go out fast, you have to keep going because you’re going to die anyway,” she said.

Lieke Klaver, also of the Netherlands, was second in 50.16 and Alexis Holmes third in 50.24. The medalists all had best times for place at an indoor Worlds, and Bol’s margin of 0.99 has been exceeded only by Russia’s Irina Privalova, who won by 1.15 seconds in 1995.

Holmes became No. 3 on the all-time U.S. list. At August’s World Championships, she surprisingly overtook Bol, who stumbled and fell before the finish of the mixed 4x400 relay.

Bol reiterated her aim for the Olympics is the 400 hurdles. She could be pitted against Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in one of Paris’ marquee matchups in any sport.

“This is great because I’ve not done hurdles for four weeks, and it gives me confidence,” Bol said.

Holloway’s World title was his fifth, including two indoors and three outdoors. Italy’’s Lorenzo Ndele Simonelli took silver in 7.43 and France’s Just Kwaou-Mathey bronze in 7.47. U.S. champion Trey Cunningham was sixth in 7.53.

Margin between gold and silver was a record 0.14. Holloway’s semifinal was in 7.32, so he now has eight of the nine fastest times ever.

“Hurding comes down to milliseconds. Hurding comes down to inches and centimeters,” he said. “I just want to stay focused on the task at hand.”

Elsewhere, Julien Alfred ran to an historic victory in the 60 meters, Belgium’s Alexander Doom beat Norway’s Karsten Warholm in the 400, and Great Britain’s Molly Caudery won home gold in the pole vault.

Alfred, who at this time last year was on her way to the Bowerman Award at Texas, is the first athlete from Saint Lucia to win a global medal at a senior championship. She clocked 6.98 to beat Poland’s Ewa Swoboda, 7.00, and Italy’s Zaynab Dosso, 7.05.

U.S. champion Aleia Hobbs lined up to start but developed an apparent cramp and was taken from the infield in a wheelchair.

Alfred, 22, was fifth in the 100 and fourth in the 200 at last August’s World Championships.

“I was very hungry coming to the next season,” she said. “I feel like I was disappointed last season.”

In the 400, Doom’s time of 45.25 ranks No. 5 in the world behind four collegians awaiting next week’s NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships. Warholm, Olympic champion and world record-holder in the 400 hurdles, was second in 45.34 in his season opener.

“I didn’t have time to do all the winter work I usually do, so I was feeling it a bit with the rounds,” Warholm said. “All in all, it’s an acceptable time, so it’s OK. It was a last-minute decision to come here.”

Caudery, coming off two surgeries last year, vaulted to gold at 15 feet, 9 inches (4.80m). Eliza McCartney of New Zealand was second at the same bar, and Katie Moon earned bronze at 15-7 (4.75m).

Sandi Morris, winner of the past two World indoor golds, was fifth at 15-3 (4.65m).

Moon, gold medalist at the 2021 Olympics and 2022 and 2023 outdoor Worlds, said she had not vaulted nor run over the past two weeks because of Achilles tendon soreness.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on  Twitter: @DavidWoods007