Femke Bol and Shaunae Miller-Uibo in action at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22 (© Getty Images)
Something has to give. Someone has to lose. But when two great athletes line up against each other, with two laps of the track to separate the victor from the vanquished, the real winner is often the sport itself.
This is a 50-second showdown that will show athletics at its very finest.
On Saturday night (19), the brilliant Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo is on a collision course with Dutch star Femke Bol in the women’s 400m final at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22.
Barring a major upset in Friday evening’s semifinals, the pair look the standout picks in the hunt for gold. It’s a title neither has won before, a title both of them very much want.
A title only one is going to get.
Great things often come along in twos, and this is a race that will likely be defined by their binary brilliance. The most memorable match-ups in sport tend to pit contrasting styles against each other – think Frazier-Ali, Federer-Nadal, Bolt-Gatlin – and on Saturday night at the Stark Arena, the lightning pace and power of Miller-Uibo will go up against the superb speed endurance of Bol.
Miller-Uibo’s indoor best for the distance is 50.21. Bol’s is 50.30.
But these are two very different athletes. Miller-Uibo’s 200m PB is 21.71. Bol’s is 23.16.
We know, with near certainty, who’ll be leading at the bell. What we don’t know is who’ll be leading at the finish.
Miller-Uibo is the two-time Olympic 400m champion, and has not lost a 400m race in more than two years. Bol is the two-time European indoor 400m champion, the Olympic bronze medallist at 400m hurdles, and she hasn’t lost an indoor 400m race in over two years.
The Bahamian’s speed is the immovable object over the first 200m, but Bol’s ability to sustain her speed tends to be an unstoppable force over the latter half.
As we said, something’s got to give.
On Friday morning, both coasted to victory in their respective heats, Bol winning in 51.48 and Miller-Uibo clocking 51.74.
Even running well within themselves, their differing approaches were clear: Miller-Uibo’s first 100m was 12.03, her last 14.47. Bol’s first 100m was much slower at 12.47, her last much quicker at 14.15.
One thing that was clear is both athletes are happy to have the other against them in Belgrade.
“I’m at the World Championships so you want to go against the best, and she’s the best,” said Bol. “I’m excited to go out there because I feel fit.”
Miller-Uibo said indoors was “not my favourite”, explaining how she decided to retire from indoor 400m running after winning world indoor silver 2014. “I came back again last year to give it another go, but after this season I think I’ll put it back into retirement and concentrate on the outdoors,” she said. “There are just too many turns for me and I never get a chance to really open out my legs. It is a lot of fun, though.”
Miler-Uibo had not raced this indoor season before arriving in Belgrade, withdrawing late from World Athletics Indoor Tour meetings in Birmingham and Staten Island.
“For me, this one is just a chance to see where we’re at with training,” she said. “The main goal this season is to be ready (for) the World Championships in Oregon and this is about working towards that goal.”
Miller-Uibo knows the strength of her opponents, but isn’t getting carried away with focusing on Bol. After all, the race includes Poland’s Justyna Swiety-Ersetic, who clocked a national indoor record of 51.04 earlier this month.
“I try not to pin-point one rival or two,” said Miller-Uibo. “There are always a lot of girls coming up and a lot of talented athletes around. It’s always a pleasure to compete with them and get the best out of each other.”
Bol is in a similar frame of mind ahead of Saturday’s showdown, aware that the presence of Miller-Uibo could elevate her to a new level. That was the case in Tokyo when she went third on the all-time list at 400m hurdles, clocking 52.03 behind Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad.
“For sure, it will push me and make me more motivated,” she said of Miller-Uibo’s presence. “I hope it pushes us to great times.”
In her heat, Bolt looked at her absolute ease, coasting to the finish a wide-margin winner in 51.48.
“It was good, a clean and an easy race,” said Bol. “I just wanted to be in front to avoid any kind of unexpected situations, to reach the semifinal without any incidents and save as much energy as possible.”
Both she and Miller-Uibo know they will need everything they have on Saturday evening. The gun goes at 19:55 local time. In 50 seconds, maybe a little less, we’ll have our answer.
But until then the question remains: who will it be?
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics
