Last Friday, Sydney Mclaughlin beat her own world record in the 400-meter hurdles by 0.73 seconds. She had set the previous record 27 days earlier at the US championships.
With an astonishing time of 50.68 seconds, Mclaughlin broke her event’s world record for the fourth time in two years. The reigning Olympic gold medalist has remained undefeated since 2019 despite some fierce competitors, such as Femke Bol and Dalilah Muhammad. On Friday, Bol placed second at 52.27 seconds and Muhammad came in third with 53.13 seconds.
Mclaughlin comes from a family of athletes. Her dad was an Olympic sprinter, her mother was a runner, and her brother received silver in the 400m hurdles at the 2016 World Championships. Her father introduced her to running at a young age. He tricked her into competing by using chocolate as persuasion. The innocent bribe would mark the beginning of Mclaughlin’s career.
Her first big event was the 2016 Olympics in Rio. At only 16-years-old, Mclaughlin qualified third at the US national trials, becoming the youngest athlete on the US track team since 1980. Although she was eliminated at the semifinals, the public saw her as a rising star with tremendous potential.
In 2019 at the World Championships, she finished second in the 400m hurdles after Muhammad. The next year, Mclaughlin received gold and beat Muhammad by less than a second at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
How does she improve so fast? Mclaughlin says that her strategy is to simply concentrate on her own actions instead of her surroundings. “For me it’s kind of just focusing on myself and making sure I’m doing everything possible to be successful,” she said.
Even with so many accomplishments under her belt, Mclaughlin and her coach, Bobby Kersee, are still striving to improve. “I think we’re all figuring out that, yes, there are 10 barriers, but we can run them a lot faster than people think,” she said. “I still think that wasn’t even a super clean race.”
In coming events, Mclaughlin plans to continue to compete in the 400-meter race, her specialty, but she might add the 100-meter hurdles onto her agenda. Either way, the public should keep an eye on the track star in the future.
It is hard to believe that the running sensation is only 22-years-old. She already has plenty of experience and awards, and she continues to grow at each race with no signs of stopping. Mclaughlin is well on her way to becoming one of the greatest runners in history.
With an astonishing time of 50.68 seconds, Mclaughlin broke her event’s world record for the fourth time in two years. The reigning Olympic gold medalist has remained undefeated since 2019 despite some fierce competitors, such as Femke Bol and Dalilah Muhammad. On Friday, Bol placed second at 52.27 seconds and Muhammad came in third with 53.13 seconds.
Mclaughlin comes from a family of athletes. Her dad was an Olympic sprinter, her mother was a runner, and her brother received silver in the 400m hurdles at the 2016 World Championships. Her father introduced her to running at a young age. He tricked her into competing by using chocolate as persuasion. The innocent bribe would mark the beginning of Mclaughlin’s career.
Her first big event was the 2016 Olympics in Rio. At only 16-years-old, Mclaughlin qualified third at the US national trials, becoming the youngest athlete on the US track team since 1980. Although she was eliminated at the semifinals, the public saw her as a rising star with tremendous potential.
In 2019 at the World Championships, she finished second in the 400m hurdles after Muhammad. The next year, Mclaughlin received gold and beat Muhammad by less than a second at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
How does she improve so fast? Mclaughlin says that her strategy is to simply concentrate on her own actions instead of her surroundings. “For me it’s kind of just focusing on myself and making sure I’m doing everything possible to be successful,” she said.
Even with so many accomplishments under her belt, Mclaughlin and her coach, Bobby Kersee, are still striving to improve. “I think we’re all figuring out that, yes, there are 10 barriers, but we can run them a lot faster than people think,” she said. “I still think that wasn’t even a super clean race.”
In coming events, Mclaughlin plans to continue to compete in the 400-meter race, her specialty, but she might add the 100-meter hurdles onto her agenda. Either way, the public should keep an eye on the track star in the future.
It is hard to believe that the running sensation is only 22-years-old. She already has plenty of experience and awards, and she continues to grow at each race with no signs of stopping. Mclaughlin is well on her way to becoming one of the greatest runners in history.