When Femke Bol crossed the line in Tokyo with the bronze medal in the women’s 4×400 relay, it was more than just another piece of hardware. It marked her 15th global championship medal, pulling her level with distance legend Sifan Hassan as the most decorated Dutch athlete in history on the world stage. The milestone capped a championship that delivered six medals for the Netherlands, a record tally that placed the country fourth on the overall medal table at the 2025 World Athletics Championships. For a nation often celebrated for cycling and speed skating, track and field has now firmly taken its place at the top table.
At just 25, Bol has rewritten the Dutch record books. In Tokyo she claimed gold in the 400m hurdles with a world-leading 51.54 seconds, silver in the mixed 4×400 relay, and bronze in the women’s 4×400 relay. Those results brought her global medal collection to 15: four Olympic, seven World Outdoor, and four World Indoor. Add in European medals, and the tally rises to an astonishing 27, including eleven indoor European titles.
“It is really remarkable that such a small country wins so many medals,” Bol reflected after the championships . Her dominance in the hurdles was expected. She came into Tokyo unbeaten in the event all, season, and her smooth clearance of each barrier in the final showed why. But what makes Bol unique is her ability to pivot seamlessly from individual excellence to team events, providing the anchor and inspiration for Dutch relay squads that are now consistent podium finishers.
While Bol’s star power draws headlines, the depth of the Dutch women’s 400-meter corps is perhaps the real story of Tokyo. Eveline Saalberg, a 27-year-old from Vessem, extended her own remarkable record in relays. With silver in the mixed 4×400 and bronze in the women’s 4×400, she now owns 11 international relay medals in just four years, spread across World and European Championships and the Olympics.
For Saalberg, the Tokyo medals carried extra meaning. At the Paris Olympics a year earlier she had been left out of the mixed relay final and used only in the heats of the women’s relay. “That was difficult for me,” she admitted. “But this year I’ve been stronger, running my best times ever, and I’m proud I could deliver for the team.”
Her season-long experiment of running more 800-meter races paid off: she clocked multiple sub-52-second splits in Tokyo, including a personal best 50.7 seconds as the anchor in the mixed relay. “It showed me that trying new things was the right decision,” she said afterwards.
Together with Lieke Klaver, Lisanne de Witte, Myrte van der Schoot, and Bol, the Dutch women have turned the 4×400 into a reliable medal event. De Witte, another mainstay of the squad, reminded fans not to take it for granted: “We win medals every time, but we should not think that’s normal. It is really special.”
Track excellence was matched in the field. Jessica Schilder claimed gold in the shot put with a throw of 20.29 meters, confirming her place among the very best in the world. Her victory was significant: it showed that Dutch strength extends beyond sprints and hurdles into technical and power events.
Jorinde van Klinken added silver in the discus, throwing 68.03 meters to secure the Netherlands’ first World Championship medal in the event. For a country without a deep throwing tradition, Schilder and van Klinken represent a new frontier.
The Dutch men added their own historic achievement by capturing bronze in the 4×100 relay. Nsikak Ekpo, Taymir Burnet, Xavi Mo-Ajok, and Elvis Afrifa combined for a national record, proving that Dutch sprinting is also on the rise.
Meanwhile, Niels Laros, just 19, ran the best ever World Championship performance by a Dutchman in the 1500 meters. He reached the final and placed among the world’s elite — a tantalizing glimpse of what may come in Paris 2028 and beyond.
In total, the Netherlands left Tokyo with two gold, two silver, and two bronze. Only track and field powerhouses like the United States, Kenya, and Jamaica finished higher in the medal count. To underline the achievement: just over a decade ago, Dutch athletes would have celebrated making a single final. Now, with Hassan absent in Tokyo, the team still produced its greatest World Championship campaign ever.
By equalling Hassan’s 15 global medals, Bol has entered rarefied company. Hassan, the Somali-born Dutch distance runner, transformed global athletics in the past decade with her unprecedented Olympic treble in Tokyo 2021 and a string of world titles on the track and road. Bol now represents the next generation, equally dominant in her own events, but also a symbol of the collective strength of Dutch athletics.
The baton has not yet been passed — Hassan is expected to return — but Dutch fans can now marvel at a unique situation: two all-time greats competing in the same era, driving each other and their teammates to higher levels.
For Dutch fans, Tokyo was validation. For expats living in the Netherlands, it offers an invitation. Athletics here is no longer a niche: clubs across the country are thriving, youth interest is surging, and names like Bol, Saalberg, Schilder, and van Klinken are household fixtures.
The grassroots club system is accessible: from local track teams to road races, expats can join, compete, or simply watch. Success at the elite level translates into more visibility on TV, more media coverage, and more investment in facilities. It also creates new role models for children of international families growing up in the Netherlands.
The big question now: is this sustainable? Some commentators warn that maintaining such success requires continued investment. Talent development, coaching, and financial support must keep pace. With Hassan’s absence in Tokyo, Dutch medals still flowed — but can this be repeated when expectations rise again in 2027 and at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028?
There is also the challenge of balance. Athletics remains in competition for attention with football, cycling, and skating, all deeply entrenched in Dutch culture. Stars like Bol may command the spotlight, but building depth across events is a longer-term project.
Tokyo 2025 will be remembered as the moment when Dutch athletics arrived as a global force. Bol stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Hassan in the record books, Schilder and van Klinken expanded the nation’s horizons into the throws, and Saalberg reminded everyone that relays are about more than one superstar.
As Bol herself said, “It is really special that such a small country wins so many medals.” For a country that thrives on punching above its weight, that might be the perfect motto for this new golden era.
Written by John Mahnen