Emma Zapletalová Wins 400m at Lievin Meet, Defeats European Champion

Lievin, France – February 19, 2026 – Slovakia’s Emma Zapletalová, the 2025 Slovak Sportswoman of the Year, secured a victory in the 400 meters at the Lievin indoor meeting on Wednesday. Considered one of the world’s premier indoor athletics events, Zapletalová finished with a time of 51.40 seconds, surpassing reigning European champion Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands.

Zapletalová Outpaces Klaver and Mawdsley

The race saw a strong finish from Zapletalová, overtaking Klaver in the final stretch. Ireland’s Sharlene Mawdsley claimed third place.

Athlete Reflects on Victory

“I am extremely happy about today’s victory at the gold meeting in Lievin. Although it was not a record and the time was weaker compared to the previous starts, it was mainly about the victory,” Zapletalová stated to TOP Athletics. “I am very happy that I beat the specialists in the smooth four hundred, led by the world star Lieke Klaverová.”

Zapletalová also noted her adherence to the race plan, despite identifying areas for potential improvement. “I’m also glad that I managed to stick to the race plan, although my coach and I decided that there were details that could have been even better – maybe I should have run into the final lap in first place, but I went according to plan to finish second behind Lieke and overtake her at the end.”

Hodgkinson Sets World Record in Lievin

The Lievin meeting also witnessed a world record performance by Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, who set a new indoor world record in the 800m with a time of 1:54.87, surpassing Jolanda Čeplak’s previous record of 1:55.82 from March 3, 2002, by 95 hundredths of a second. Denník N reports that the date of Hodgkinson’s record-breaking run coincides with her birthday.

(Sources: TASR, Denník N, Flashscore, Bleskovky.zoznam.sk)