Femke Bol raising the roof in Apeldoorn is nothing new. The last time she raced at the Omnisport Arena, the Dutch star broke her own world indoor 400m record, after all.
Following the rigours of an Olympic year, there has been no individual indoor season for the world 400m hurdles champion to tackle, but she was back on home turf and setting the track alight to get day one of the European Indoor Athletics Championships off to a golden start for the host nation on Friday night (March 6).
In her first race of 2025, Bol – as she so often does – anchored her team to victory with a highly accomplished closing leg in the mixed 4x400m relay, an event making its debut at these championships. The winning time, 3:15.63, immediately became a championship record.
Belgium, led home by Helena Ponette, took silver in 3:16.19, just ahead of the fast finishing Lina Nielsen as the British quartet completed the podium in 3:16.49.
The last time the Netherlands staged a major international athletics championships, in 2016, the teenaged Bol was a volunteer helper but, on this occasion, she was at the centre of the crowd’s attention rather than checking their tickets.
Despite her lack of racing, her progress around the relaid Apeldoorn track was serene and, taking the baton in fourth, she glided her way into the lead and left no doubt as to the outcome.
“Pinch me,” laughed Bol when asked what she would say to her younger self. “I wouldn’t have dared to dream to be able to do this and to get this amazing feeling. It’s something crazy.”
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Getty)
The other main source of intrigue and excitement on opening evening came in the heats of the men’s and women’s 1500m. Defending men’s champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen flexed his muscles at the TV cameras after qualifying fastest overall and winning the opening heat in 3:37.49 – and there was certainly some robust racing from the Norwegian, who jostled with Britain’s Thomas Keen as he made a move up the inside when trying to work his way through the pack.
Ingebrigtsen, who sat at the back until around 600m to go, ran out a comfortable winner, coming home ahead of Frenchman Louis Gilavert (3:38.11) and Belgium’s Ruben Verheyden (3:38.21), while Keen finished sixth in 3:40.10 and out of the running for the final. The Briton’s time was faster than that of his team-mate Neil Gourley, who had to stay patient to win heat three and make sure of his progress in 3:40.24.
A big talking point heading into the event was the controversial use of pacing lights at a championships for the first time. Rather than being used for the entirety of races, they were featured at certain points in proceedings to help the crowd appreciate the pace the athletes were travelling at. As Keen pointed out, they had an impact.
“Someone came in on my inside and knocked my rhythm just as I felt I was getting into my stride, then I struggled to regain it and my confidence,” he said, one of the 12 athletes winning their first senior British vest at these championships.
“The pace wasn’t consistent and not helped by the wave lights. When they came on, the pack surged. Championship racing is a different art form [to chasing times]. Respect that and leave the lights out. There will be people who love the lights and people who don’t.”
Georgia Bell (Getty)
In the women’s heats, Georgia Hunter Bell progressed with the minimum of fuss, finishing as the fastest qualifier overall in winning heat two in 4:11.31. The Olympic bronze medallist, mindful of being spiked in the Achilles during the heats of last summer’s European Championships, was taking no chances and controlled the race from start to finish.
She is joined in the final by her British team-mate Revee Walcott-Nolan, who clocked 4:14.38 to finish second in heat three. Debutant Ava Lloyd, training partner of Hunter Bell and Keely Hodgkinson, was sixth in heat one after a run of 4:18.74.
Elsewhere on the track, there was more for the home crowd to cheer as Nadine Visser qualified fastest from the heats of the women’s 60m hurdles in 7.89, followed by Finn Lotta Harala (8.00) and Italy’s Elisa Maria di Lazzaro (8.05)
In the men’s heats, Wilhem Belocian of France led the way into the semi-finals with 7.46. Defending champion Jason Joseph of Switzerland also qualified, with 7.56, and Abel Jordan of Spain, who is also competing in the 60m, went through in 7.65.
With Miltiadis Tentoglou laid low by flu, the door is open for a new European Indoor champion to emerge in the men’s long jump. World indoor silver medallist Mattia Furlani is expected to take that step, though the Italian only finished fifth in qualifying with a best leap of 7.95m. The field was headed by Portuguese Gerson Baldé on 8.11m, closely followed by Spanish champion Jaime Guerra with 8.07m.
European outdoor champion Ana Peleteiro-Compaoré led the way in qualifying for the women’s triple jump, reaching out to 14.14m. The Spaniard was followed by Turkey’s European Indoor champion Tugba Danismaz (14.10m) and Finn Senni Salminen (14.02m).
In men’s high jump qualifying, the top six athletes all cleared 2.23m but they were led by Italy’s Manuel Lando thanks to his first-team clearances at each height.
Reigning European indoor champion Angelica Moser made sure of her place in the women’s pole vault final, the Swiss clearing 4.55m – the same height achieved by Slovenia’s Tina Šutej, Amálie Švábíková of Czechia, and Finland’s Elina Lampela.
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