Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke the world record in the 400-meter hurdles by running it in 50.65 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon. This was her fourth long hurdles race of the season and she crossed all 10 barriers smoothly before sprinting to the finish line and breaking the record for the fifth time. Her victory was by a significant margin of 1.99 seconds over Anna Cockrell and 2.12 seconds over Jasmine Jones, forcing the track community to rethink what is possible in the sport.
Prior to McLaughlin-Levrone’s record-breaking run, the world record for the 400-meter hurdles had remained stuck at 52.34 from 2003-2019. It was American Dalilah Muhammad who broke the record twice in 2019, and her performance at the world championships affected McLaughlin-Levrone and led her to change coaches. Under coach Bobby Kersee, McLaughlin-Levrone made significant adjustments to her technique, including dropping to 14 strides between the early hurdles which proved to be a game changer.
Since setting the world record in 2021, McLaughlin-Levrone has been in a class of her own. Instead of being seen as a favorite for the Olympics, she now stands as a clear frontrunner in the event, challenging norms and pushing boundaries in track and field like never before. With greats like Edwin Moses believing that she may just need a few more races before achieving this milestone, there is optimism that she may continue to break records during her career on both domestic and international stages alike.
With only one more race left before Paris Olympics – where McLaughlin-Levrone will compete for gold – many are excited about what’s next for this talented young athlete who has already achieved so much in her career at such a young age.
While Femke Bol of Netherlands may not be competing against McLaughlin-
