Femke Bol’s international debut over 800m on Sunday (8) in Metz is one of the most eagerly awaited races on the athletics circuit for many years – and it will be live streamed on the European Athletics website from 14:35 CET.
Huge interest surrounds the 25-year-old Dutch athlete’s foray into a new event after twice winning 400m hurdles gold at the World Athletics Championships and setting the 400m indoor world record (49.17) when winning gold at the Glasgow 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships.
Scary and exciting
Bol made the shock announcement in October that she would be stepping up to the 800m, a decision she has described as “scary” but also “exciting”.
Since then, anticipation has been building over when she would first race in her new discipline. With positive signs in her winter training, she has chosen the Meeting Metz Moselle Athlélor Crédit Mutuel as the first page of a new chapter in her storied career.
It is a meeting that already holds fond memories for the Dutch superstar, having won the women's 400m on five successive occasions from 2020-2024 and also the site of her first breaching 50 seconds for the distance.
But, it is by no means certain that Bol will win on Sunday. She will face a high-calibre field of sub-two-minute runners, including European silver medallist Gabriela Gajanova of Slovakia and Switzerland’s twice European finalist Lore Hoffman. It promises to be a fascinating spectacle.
World champion Kambundji renewing European rivalries
As well as the women’s 800m, there is a packed programme of high-quality competition to look forward to at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting.
World 100m hurdles champion Ditaji Kambundji makes her first appearance of the year in the women’s 60m hurdles. The Swiss athlete will go up against the Netherlands’ twice European indoor champion Nadine Visser and Poland’s former European 100m hurdles champion Pia Skrzyszowska.
The trio had a scintillating race at last year’s Apeldoorn 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships, where Kambundji won gold in a new European record of 7.67. Visser will also be making her season debut.
Furlani set for big test
Alongside Bol and Kambundji, Mattia Furlani is the third gold medallist from last year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo competing in Metz.
The Italian, who is also the world indoor champion, will line up in the men’s long jump alongside Bulgaria’s Bozhidar Saraboyukov, who snatched gold from Furlani at Apeldoorn 2025, and France’s European U23 champion Erwan Konaté.
Furlani and Saraboyukov have opened their seasons in impressive style, landing marks of 8.33m and 8.26m respectively in January.
Record-breaker Molnar back in action
Both the men’s and women’s 400m races should also provide real excitement. In the men’s event, fresh from setting a new European indoor record of 45.01 in Ostrava on Tuesday (3), Hungary’s European indoor champion Attila Molnár is back in action.
His opposition includes 2024 world indoor champion Alexander Doom of Belgium, who suffered a surprise defeat in Glasgow on Saturday (31), and five-time Italian champion Edoardo Scotti.
In the women’s race, Norway’s Henriette Jæger will be making her first outing of the season.
Great Britain’s Yemi Mary John, who had to settle for silver behind Jæger at the Bergen 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships, is also in the line-up. Slovakia’s world 400m hurdles bronze medallist Emma Zapletalová is another strong entrant.
Spain’s Jael Bestué will be targeting a sprint double in the women’s 60m and women’s 200m. In the shorter sprint, she will face Luxembourg’s world indoor and European indoor bronze medallist Patrizia van der Weken.
In the distance races, France’s European cross-country and road gold medallist Yann Schrub is entered for the men’s 3000m, while Great Britain’s European indoor 1500m bronze medallist Revée Walcott-Nolan is entered for the women’s 3000m.
World University Games gold medallist David Barroso of Spain and Italian record holder Pietro Arese lead the entries for the men’s 800m and 1500m respectively.
The women’s pole vault should come down to a battle between world bronze medallist Tina Šutej of Slovenia and Czechia’s Amálie Švábíková, who won at the Madrid 2025 European Athletics Team Championships First Division.
