00:00She thought she was about to win at the World Championships, but as she pushed her body to
00:04its absolute limit and she felt the American runner breathing down her neck, her legs gave
00:09out and she slammed face first into the ground. Her baton flew over the finish line, completely
00:15disqualifying the entire Dutch relay team and destroying their chances of even getting a medal.
00:21He was referencing Safaan Hassan, another incredible Dutch runner who had fallen earlier
00:26in the evening in the last stretch of the 10,000 metre finals. As Femke Boa watched the replays and
00:32she
00:32heard the cackles of the US commentators laughing about her and her fellow countrywoman's misfortune,
00:37she felt sick to her stomach. Soon after the race, Femke was swarmed by reporters questioning her
00:50on what happened, but she didn't dwell and she made it clear that she wasn't going to let it happen
00:54again. I'm lucky enough to have another chance in a couple of days. I would like my revenge.
00:58The event she fell in was the mixed 4x400 metre relay, but she still had to run the women's 4x400
01:04metre relay a couple days later. So when the day arrived, Femke was determined to redeem herself
01:10and secure a medal for the country she felt like she'd let down. She was once again running the
01:15anchor leg, but this time she was handed the baton in third place, left with a lot of space to
01:20make up.
01:20I think they're falling just far out enough of reach where it may not matter what Femke Boa does.
01:25But Femke was determined and as the runners came down the final stretch, she pulled into second
01:30place and then she won. However, as Femke celebrated and watched back the replay of her winning race,
01:36her revenge felt incomplete. This just re-emphasizes how great Alexis Holmes was that night,
01:42because she ran down a woman who tonight ran down some of the best anchors in the world.
01:46See, the US weren't even in this race. They'd been disqualified in an earlier heat, and so there
01:51was still an underlying feeling that a true sense of revenge would only come from Femke and her team
01:57outperforming the US in the mixed relay. And only a year later, it looked like they would get that
02:02opportunity at the 2024 Paris Olympics. But as the Dutch mixed team lined up in the qualifiers,
02:08many people were confused when Femke Boa was nowhere to be seen. But the truth is,
02:13that it was all part of the Netherlands strategy. See, between the qualifying heats and the finals,
02:17teams are allowed to substitute one runner. So when the Dutch team progressed to the finals,
02:22they knew who they wanted running the anchor leg. When Femke received the baton once again,
02:26she had a lot of distance to make up. This time she was sitting in fourth place,
02:31with the US holding a massive lead. But Femke got to work, gradually taking each podium spot from the
02:37leading pack. She pulled ahead into third and second, and then when she had the US runner in her
02:42sight, she knew this was her moment.
02:45You can change out one runner, and they bring in Femke Boa. What kind of runner to bring in?
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