Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shattered the women’s 400 meters hurdles world record with a stunning time of 50.65 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, on Sunday. The 24-year-old Olympic champion surpassed her own previous record of 50.68 seconds, set two years ago at the same Hayward Field track.
“Honestly, praise God,” McLaughlin-Levrone said in televised remarks. “I’m just amazed, baffled, and in shock.”
From the moment the race began, McLaughlin-Levrone took the lead, demonstrating a technically flawless performance as she soared over each hurdle. She was several meters ahead of the rest of the field as she crossed the finish line to thunderous applause from the crowd, securing her spot in the Paris Olympics. Anna Cockrell finished second with a time of 52.64 seconds, while Jasmine Jones took third with 52.77 seconds.
McLaughlin-Levrone’s achievement marks the fifth world record she has broken in three years. She was also the first woman to break the 52- and 51-second marks in the 400-meter hurdles. Alongside McLaughlin-Levrone, Cockrell and Jones will represent the United States in the 400-meter hurdles at the Paris Olympics.
This will be McLaughlin-Levrone’s third Olympic appearance. She first made the U.S. Olympic track team in 2016 at just 17 years old, becoming the youngest athlete to do so since 1980. Although she didn’t win a medal in her first Olympics, she secured gold in the 400-meter hurdles and the 4×400-meter relay at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, solidifying her status as an Olympic star.
For the past two years, McLaughlin-Levrone had largely stayed away from the 400-meter hurdles, focusing instead on improving her skills. Her hard work paid off as she lowered the world record for the fifth time on Sunday, closing out the U.S. Olympic trials with a remarkable performance.
“Just shock. Honestly, shock,” McLaughlin-Levrone said, covering her mouth in amazement when she saw her time. “I know when it first came up, it said, ‘50.67.’ I was like, ‘There’s just no way.'”
The clock then adjusted down two ticks, confirming her new world record. “I wasn’t expecting that time,” she added.
This race was only McLaughlin-Levrone’s fourth 400-meter hurdles race of the season. Unlike previous times, there wasn’t much buzz about her breaking her own record of 50.68 seconds, set at the 2022 World Championships, also at Hayward Field. However, her performance was part of a well-thought-out plan.
McLaughlin-Levrone spent her time working on shorter hurdles and 200- and 400-meter sprints, which helped her improve her speed and master the art of jumping off either foot. Hurdling great Edwin Moses noted that her newfound speed initially caused her problems with attacking the hurdles and getting her steps together. However, her brain eventually caught up with her physicality, leading to her record-breaking performance.
McLaughlin-Levrone’s victory came by a significant margin, with a 1.99-second lead over Cockrell and a 2.12-second lead over Jones. “She’s really fast and she’s really strong, it’s hard to put it any other way,” Cockrell said.
The latest record doesn’t just reset the storyline for the Olympics; it forces the track world to rethink what’s possible. Instead of focusing on a showdown with Femke Bol of the Netherlands, the conversation will now turn to when the 50-second mark might be broken in this race, possibly as soon as August 8, the date of the Olympic final in Paris.
“It could happen,” Moses said. “She might need a couple more races, but that’s about it.”
McLaughlin-Levrone’s journey has been remarkable and swift. From 2003 to 2019, the world record in the 400-meter hurdles remained at 52.34 seconds. American Dalilah Muhammad broke it twice in 2019, with the second time at the World Championships, a race that motivated McLaughlin-Levrone to switch to coach Bobby Kersee.
Kersee made significant changes to McLaughlin-Levrone’s training, including dropping her to 14 strides between the early hurdles. This adjustment was a game-changer, putting her in a class by herself but also requiring her to rework her takeoffs. Her work on the short hurdles helped her master this technique.
“I’ve said it before, (she) just ran a world record and it’s like we’re not even shocked at this point,” said Muhammad, the 2016 Olympic champion who finished sixth on Sunday. “She’s just an amazing talent, a generational talent for sure. I didn’t know I’m the only one to beat her, so kudos to me.”
In addition to her world record in the hurdles, McLaughlin-Levrone is also the world leader this year in the flat 400 meters. She ran 48.75 seconds in New York at the start of June, a daunting sign for any country hoping to challenge the U.S. in the 4×400 relay in Paris.
McLaughlin-Levrone started running 400s and 200s shortly after the 2022 World Championships, where she lowered the world record to 50.68 seconds. At the time, she hinted that these races might be her future. However, a few weeks ago, she announced her return to the 400-meter hurdles.
On a calm night in Oregon, McLaughlin-Levrone closed out the 2024 Olympic trials with a record-breaking performance, proving that all her other races were building blocks for her main event.
“The 400 hurdles is a mixture of all of it,” she said. “It’s the short hurdles combined with the 4, combined with the 2. You need that endurance, that speed, and that technicality. So those were definitely just building blocks along the way to get us through.”
Source: Reuters, AP, NBC Sports
