A dominant Femke Bol eased home to retain her European title in the 400 metres hurdles at the European championships in Rome on Tuesday evening.

The 24-year-old completed the distance in 52.49 seconds, winning by more than a second and a half, to pick up the second Dutch gold medal of the tournament. Earlier Jessica Schilder took the top spot in the shot put.

The silver medal went to Louise Maraval of France while Cathelijn Peeters took the bronze – her first medal in a big international event.

There was also a surprise silver medal for Diana van Es, who took five seconds off her personal best in the 10,000 metres behind Italy’s Nadia Battocletti.

Earlier in the tournament, Liemarvin Bonevacia won bronze in the men’s 400 metres, with Lieke Klaver taking bronze in the women’s event.

Jorinde van Klinken won the silver in both the shot and the discus and the Dutch team, including Bol, Klaver and Bonevacia won bronze in the mixed 4×400 relay.

Wednesday is the final day of the championships, with the Dutch women hoping for another medal in the 4×400 metres. The Dutch men’s team failed to qualify for the final and will not now take part in the Paris Olympics later this summer.