Bengaluru: Femke Bol was fourth as she began to come around the final turn. Kaylyn Brown, USA’s anchor in the 4x400m mixed relay, was comfortably in the lead. Behind her Amber Anning of Great Britain and Belgium’s Naomi van der Broek. The Netherlands didn’t qualify for the race in the 2020 Olympics. This time, they switched things up and brought in Bol in place of Catheljin Peeters to run the anchor leg.

Bol had famously run the women’s 4x400m anchor leg at the 2023 World Championships in breathtaking fashion. With Jamaica’s Stacy Williams coasting in the clear lead and Bol nowhere in reckoning for gold, the Dutch runner had hauled herself past the field to the finish line.

In Paris on Saturday, Bol and the Netherlands were again seemingly out of reckoning for the gold heading into the final lap. USA, the new world record holders, were comfortably astride out in front. Rain fell in the Stade de France as Bol, whose main race is the 400m hurdles, realised she had a lot of ground to cover. “Surely, the USA is too far ahead” – commentator offered. You ain’t seen nothing yet, Bol would tell him if she could.

When she was young, Bol broke her arm twice and her doctor recommended she take up judo so she can learn how to fall. She played judo for a year, didn’t love it a whole lot and then took to what always called out to her – track and field. She started out with cross-country runs of around 1000m for a Dutch club when she was barely eight and went on to dabble in javelin, long jump and discus throw before the 400m event found her.

At the 2022 European Championships in Munich, she won three gold medals in a single week – 400m, 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay. Only the second Dutch athlete to do so after Fanny Blankers-Koen in 1950.

“I visualise that I’m running towards someone. It always helps me a lot,” the 24-year-old from the city of Amersfoort said when asked how she pushes herself.

In Paris, Bol had a nightmare to put past. At this year’s World Championships in Budapest, she stumbled and fell face-down just short of the finish line as USA pulled away for the win in the 4x400m mixed relay. Bol and Netherlands missed the podium.

She wasn’t having it this time. Bol clinically first ran down van der Broek, then chewed up Anning on her left. Only Brown stood between her and an astounding gold. The crowd was on its feet, their cheers hitting deafening decibels with every runner Bol went past. On a night they were deprived of the sight of some of the big names – two-time Olympic medallist gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce had a DNS beside her name just ahead of the semi-final race – Bol was switching into overdrive and giving them their money’s worth. In her braided pigtails, Bol took long strides. The yellow baton in her hand, seeming gold.

Brown, who’d extended USA’s lead in the anchor which they’d held since Vernon Norwood’s opening leg, must’ve believed she had the race in the bag. Suddenly, she had Bol – the queen of insane late charges – running beside her. In a blink, with jet packs for feet, Bol had pulled away, ahead and past the finish line. Bol punched the air, covered her mouth in disbelief and held her head in her hands. Everyone watching around the world was doing the same. It was a European record of 3:07.43, shy of the world record by 0.02. Femke’s split – an extraordinary 47.93, Brown’s, 49.14. The American runners huddled around, hands on hips, disbelief written on their faces.

“I channelled my anger from Budapest,” Bol said. “I just went for it,” she said. “We just wanted a medal this time. Well, we got gold. It’s absolutely crazy for a small country like us.”

Relay wins are supposed to be about the team. But on Saturday night, it was all about this one wondrous woman – Femke Bol, who’d whipped up magic, taken our breath away and had us believe in the impossible.

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