One of history's greatest 400m hurdlers is set to make a big transition in 2026. This year, Femke Bol will switch her primary event from the 400 hurdles to the 800m - and her highly anticipated debut is set to take place this Sunday at the World Indoor Tour Meeting in Metz.

US Audiences can watch that race and the full Metz meeting LIVE on FloTrack.

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Metz will provide a stellar opportunity for Bol. The field is certainly talented - each women in the field has run 1:59.45 or faster, except for Bol of course.

Gabriela Gajanova (Slovakia) should probably spearhead the field. She most recently ran 2:00.45 at the Czech Indoor Gala just yesterday (February 3), for second. Gajanova is a European Silver Medalist in the 800m from the 2024 Outdoor Champs. She owns a personal best of 1:58.22 over the outdoor 800m distance.

The field will also receive pacing from Anna Gryc. Gryc is a 2025 World Indoor Silver Medalist in the 4x400m Relay for Poland. She should have no problem setting the early marks for Bol and the field.

So What Can Bol Do?

It is really hard to predict how well Femke could run on Sunday. She could easily go out and score a win or finish last in this field.

I'd expect Bol to finish midfield with a time around 2:01 or 2:02. For a first 800m and on an indoor circuit, one can expect Bol to race conservatively and mind her manners in her first race at the distance.

She'll likely be mired in traffic, which may make it difficult to make up ground late.

Metz 800m Women's Entries

• Gabriela Gajanova — Slovakia — 1:58.22
• Lore Hoffmann — Switzerland — 1:58.29
• Valentina Rosamilia — Switzerland — 1:58.64
• Smilla Kolbe — Germany — 1:59.02
• Marta Zenoni — Italy — 1:59.45
• Femke Bol — Netherlands — N/A
• Anna Gryc — Poland — N/A (Pacer)

FloTrack Archived Footage

Video footage from the event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloTrack subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.

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