ISTANBUL (AFP) – One-lap Dutch sensation Femke Bol and British 800 metres (m) specialist Keely Hodgkinson lead the charge at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul which started yesterday.
Both athletes have used the winter to build the foundations for a summer that promises rich pickings.
Bol smashed the 400m world indoor record set by Czech runner Jarmila Kratochvilova in 1982 with a stunning time of 49.26 seconds at the Dutch indoor championships in February.
She had earlier given an indication of her impressive form when she clocked the fastest women’s indoor 500m ever with a time of one minute 05.63 seconds at the Boston Indoor Grand Prix.
Hodgkinson has re-written the British record books this winter, improving the national 800m indoor mark to 1:57.18.
Bol and Hodgkinson, who both won European titles outdoors in Munich last year, face a similar problem when the action moves outdoors – despite their continental superiority, they have been pipped to world and Olympic gold by Americans who dominate their events.
