Double European athletics champion Femke Bol made an impressive start to the indoor season by setting a new world best time over 500 metres.

The 22-year-old, who won a unique double at 400m and 400m hurdles in Munich last year as well as a relay gold, ran the rarely-contested distance in 65.63 seconds at the Grand Prix event in Boston on Saturday.

Her time was 0.68 seconds faster than the previous indoor best time, set in 2006. Bol finished nearly three seconds ahead of Leah Anderson of Jamaica, with Lisanne de Witte third in 69.87.

‘I hoped to run 65.9, but you never know, so it’s amazing to run 7/10ths below [the old record],’ Bol said.

She added that running the extra distance was meant to improve her strength for the 400m hurdles. ‘You need a good last part, so it’s good to run the extra 100 metres,’ she said.

WORLD BEST

🇳🇱’ Femke Bol destroys the world 500m indoor best as she runs 1️⃣:0️⃣5️⃣.6️⃣3️⃣ to become the first woman ever to run under 1️⃣:0️⃣6️⃣ indoors 😳

What a way to open up her indoor season 🙌#WorldIndoorTour pic.twitter.com/SeuBhJagt2

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) February 4, 2023