Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone makes the miraculous look mundane; the unprecedented unsurprising; the novel normal. She is the Paris 2024 Olympic Games 400m hurdles champion
The recently turned 25-year-old American celebrated her quarter-century birthday in championship style, defending her Olympic title with her sixth world record in the event, lowering her 50.65, set in June during the Olympic Trials, to 50.37.
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“I love being able just to improve upon myself,” said McLaughlin-Levrone.
McLaughlin won by a whopping 10-15m margin over the field. In a matchup that was supposed to be a competitive duel between her and Dutch competitor Femke Bol, it turned into another McLaughlin-Levrone demolition as she became the first woman to repeat as champion in the event.
Bol, who became the second woman under 51 seconds in the event this year (50.95) in July, finished third in 52.15 behind McLaughlin-Levrone’s teammate Anna Cockrell (51.87), who herself is now the fourth-fastest person over the hurdled lap.
“The event is just getting faster and faster; there’s so much depth in it and it keeps me on my toes,” said McLaughlin-Levrone.
The girl who made the Olympic team outright in high school back in 2016 has more than delivered on her athletic promise. Since finishing in the semifinals of the Rio summer games as a high school junior, McLaughlin-Levrone narrowly finished runner-up to fellow American Dalilah Muhammad’s world record 2019 World Championship race by 0.07 of a second.
After that, every 400m hurdles world record has belonged to McLaughlin-Levrone.At the 2021 Olympic Trials, she finally defeated Muhammad by recording the first sub-52 second time in the event in 51.90.
A Legacy in the Making: McLaughlin-Levrone’s Historic Repeat as Champion
In the Tokyo Olympics, she lowered that by almost half a second with a 51.46 to win her first Olympic gold. A year later at the US Championships, she qualified for Eugene in a slightly lowered world standard of 51.41, before shattering the 51-second barrier a few months later at Worlds in 50.68.
That would remain the otherworldly world standard until 2024, with McLaughlin-Levrone taking the second half of 2023 off due to injury.
“I remember when Dalilah broke the world record back in 2019, and I was just baffled seeing 52.2 and we’ve taken it so far,” said a reflective McLaughlin-Levrone.
The awesome part about her dominance is similar to Usain Bolt’s reign, in that it leaves plenty to the imagination. Like Bolt, she is so physically gifted it has made many wonder what her potential would be in not only her marquee event, but other disciplines.
Particularly, her exploits in the flat 400m have left many salivating at the thought of her tearing down some older regional and global records. The fact she had the world lead in the 400m this season for a month and was only 0.05 hundredths slower than the 200m WL after a race in May where she defeated several accomplished short sprinters, including the event’s eventual Olympic champion Gabby Thomas, only adds fuel to this fire.
For perspective, her time Thursday over hurdles would have beaten several semifinalists in the women’s regular 400m this year.
“I do think 49 is possible,” said McLaughlin-Levrone. “I do think the talent sitting in front of you (humbly hinting at herself and her podium-bound competitors) can do that.”
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