USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone breaks 400m hurdles world record for fifth time
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once again lowered her world record at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday, running the 400-meter hurdles in 50.65 seconds.
In just her fourth 400m hurdles race of the season, the 24-year-old defending champion easily cleared all 10 barriers before sprinting to the line to break the record for the fifth time. Four of those markers have now appeared on the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field track.
She covered her mouth with her hand and stared in surprise when she saw what time it was. It was 0.03 seconds better than her run in Hayward at the 2022 world championships.
“My husband asked me yesterday, ‘What do you think you can do?’ and I said to him, ‘I don’t know,’” McLaughlin-Levrone said after the race. “Then today I crossed the line and I was like, ‘Oh, snap.’ I’m blessed and happy to be here.”
In an event that used to be decided by slim margins, McLaughlin-Levrone’s victory was by 1.99 seconds over Anna Cockrell and 2.12 seconds over Jasmine Jones.
It doesn’t so much change the narrative for the Olympics – McLaughlin-Levrone would have been the heavy favourite anyway – but raises the question of what she can achieve next.
From 2003 to 2019, the world record in the event stood at 52.34. American Dalilah Muhammad broke it twice in 2019 – the second time at the world championships in a race that demoralized McLaughlin-Levrone and led to a switch to coach Bobby Kersee.
Kersee changed everything for her. One of the biggest adjustments was cutting the first hurdles down to 14 steps. It was a move that has put her in a class of her own since she first set the world record at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials.
“I have grown as a person and as an athlete [with Kersee as my coach]”, McLaughlin-Levrone said. “He challenges me and pushes me in ways I didn’t think were possible.”
The conversation could soon turn to whether she can break the 50-second barrier in the race. Perhaps as early as August 8, the date of the Olympic final in Paris.
“It could happen,” two-time Olympic 400-meter hurdles champion Edwin Moses told the Associated Press. “She might need a few more races, but that’s it.”