Inspired by the 100-meter duel between Mondo Duplantis AND Karsten Warholm which took place last week in Zurich, the world champion in the 400-meter hurdles Woman of Pain from the Netherlands challenged the British Olympic champion in the 800 metres Keely Hodgkinson to race during the Diamond League finals press conference on Thursday. The odd 600-meter distance falls squarely between each of their main disciplines – and fans are already excited to see who will dominate if the pair keep up with the pair.

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“I’d really like to run the 600m with Keely Hodgkinson,” Bol revealed. “We’re good friends, but it’s a bit far away, so I’ll have to think about it carefully.”

The reigning Olympic 800m champion took to Instagram to indicate she had no objections to Bol’s proposal. A date for the race has not yet been set, as the 2024 track and field season is coming to an end in Brussels.

Mondo Duplantis beat Karsten Warholm in the 100m race

The trend of challenging other elite athletes and competitors in non-competitive distances began when Duplantis, the Swedish-American Olympic and world champion pole vaulter, challenged Warholm, the Norwegian world champion in the 400-meter hurdles, to a 100-meter race. There was a huge debate about which race distance was more favored; Duplantis has the speed of a 50-meter sprint to get through the pole vault run-up, while Warholm has the speed, endurance, and experience in the starting blocks. Their race was held before the Diamond League in Zurich, which Duplantis won in 10.37 seconds.

The Bol-Hodgkinson fight has already caused a stir in the world of track and field. Bol’s strengths lie in the 400m (both hurdles and freestyle), but the Dutch athlete also holds the 500m world record of 1:05.63, set in 2023. However, she considers the 600m to be “a long way off”. Hodgkinson, meanwhile, has regular experience in distances from 400m to 800m and holds the indoor 600m world record of 1:23.41, also set in 2023. Her personal best in the 400m is 51.61 – more than two seconds slower than Bol’s record of 49.17.

If you thought the winner of Duplantis vs. Warholm was hard to predict, this could be an even closer fight. If they do end up fighting, it won’t be a race to miss.