Bol, the European record holder (52.03) and fastest in the world this year to date with a season’s best of 52.30, is one of the sport’s brightest stars and holds the third-quickest time in history.
A 400mH bronze medallist at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, she went on to win double silver at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon (400mH and 4 x 400m mixed relay), followed by a hat-trick of gold medals at the European Championships (400m, 400mH and 4 x 400m relay).
She is equally impressive over the flat 400m. She recorded a national record (outdoors) with victory in last summer’s European Championships in Munich (49.44) and in February this year - prior to winning double gold at the European Indoor Championships - ran an incredible indoor world record of 49.26 in Apeldoorn.
The 23-year-old was crowned Wanda Diamond League champion in 2021 and 2022 and is unbeaten this season with series victories over 400mH in Rome/Florence (52.43), Oslo (52.30) and Lausanne (52.76).
Bol is joined in London by four of the ten fastest women over 400mH this season: 2023 US champion and 2015 world silver medallist Shamier Little (53.34 SB); Jamaica’s Olympic and world relay bronze medallist and 2022 Commonwealth champion Janieve Russell (53.72 SB); Jamaica’s 2019 world bronze medallist Rushell Clayton (53.79 SB); and home-crowd favourite Jessie Knight of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (54.32 SB), the recently crowned UK Athletics champion and fifth-ranked Brit of all time.
29-year-old Knight, a world relay bronze medallist in Eugene, has a lifetime best of 54.09 from May 2022 and has a realistic chance of making the final at this year’s World Championships in Budapest. She prides herself on her progression and has lowered her best every year under the guidance of coach Marina Armstrong. Her target for 2023 is sub-54.09.
“Our training is quite simple and it’s very consistent,” she told AW in an interview in 2021. “I just think that by doing the same thing, if your training is going better and you’re running quicker, you know you’ve got a special season coming if you can stay healthy.”
Olympic and world finalist Gianna Woodruff (PAN) - the Panama national record holder with a best of 53.69 (54.46 SB) - and Ukrainian duo Viktoriya Tkachuk and Anna Ryzhykova, European silver and bronze medallists in 2022 with PBs of 53.76 and 52.96 (national record) respectively, complete the field. Their best times this year are 54.71 and 55.41.
The full start lists for the London Athletics Meet are available here.
The remaining tickets are on sale now with the majority priced at £23 per adult and £5 per child.
