On July 22, Sydney McLaughlin made history once again by breaking a world record for the fourth time in two years and demolishing the rest of the field in the 400-meter hurdles final at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.
McLaughlin finished in a stunning 50.68 seconds, and set a new world record to win her first gold at the World Championships. Femke Bol, who is from the Netherlands, finished second with a time of 52.27 seconds, and McLaughlin’s longtime American rival Dalilah Muhammad placed third at 53.13 seconds.
In her semifinal race, McLaughlin won in 52.17 seconds. That was the world record three years ago—before McLaughlin broke it.
“I would definitely say it’s a flow state, where you’re putting everything that you’ve done in practice into the race to the point where you’re just letting your body do what it does,” McLaughlin says about her astounding races.
McLaughlin has been undefeated in the 400-meter hurdles since 2019, when she lost to Muhammad at the Qatar world championships. She broke Muhammad’s world record at the 2021 U.S. Olympic trials, then again at the Tokyo Olympics, then once again at the U.S. championships.
Muhammad is an Olympic and world champion. Bol won bronze behind McLaughlin and Muhammad at the Tokyo Olympics but placed second at Oregon. With the seventh-fastest time in history, she could well be a fierce competitor of McLaughlin’s in the future.
Despite having already pushed her career to its limits, McLaughlin still thinks she can do better. “I think we’re all figuring out that, yes, there are ten barriers, but we can run them a lot faster than people think. I still think that wasn’t even a super clean race,” she said.
Her coach, Bobby Kersee, said McLaughlin may compete in the 400 meters or the 100-meter hurdles next season, and that they remain open to all possibilities.
“My coach thinks there’s a lot more to be done,” McLaughlin says.
Link to article:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658689695383x296333176522610940/Sydney%20McLaughlin%20Broke%20Her%20Own%20World%20Record.%20Again.%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
McLaughlin finished in a stunning 50.68 seconds, and set a new world record to win her first gold at the World Championships. Femke Bol, who is from the Netherlands, finished second with a time of 52.27 seconds, and McLaughlin’s longtime American rival Dalilah Muhammad placed third at 53.13 seconds.
In her semifinal race, McLaughlin won in 52.17 seconds. That was the world record three years ago—before McLaughlin broke it.
“I would definitely say it’s a flow state, where you’re putting everything that you’ve done in practice into the race to the point where you’re just letting your body do what it does,” McLaughlin says about her astounding races.
McLaughlin has been undefeated in the 400-meter hurdles since 2019, when she lost to Muhammad at the Qatar world championships. She broke Muhammad’s world record at the 2021 U.S. Olympic trials, then again at the Tokyo Olympics, then once again at the U.S. championships.
Muhammad is an Olympic and world champion. Bol won bronze behind McLaughlin and Muhammad at the Tokyo Olympics but placed second at Oregon. With the seventh-fastest time in history, she could well be a fierce competitor of McLaughlin’s in the future.
Despite having already pushed her career to its limits, McLaughlin still thinks she can do better. “I think we’re all figuring out that, yes, there are ten barriers, but we can run them a lot faster than people think. I still think that wasn’t even a super clean race,” she said.
Her coach, Bobby Kersee, said McLaughlin may compete in the 400 meters or the 100-meter hurdles next season, and that they remain open to all possibilities.
“My coach thinks there’s a lot more to be done,” McLaughlin says.
Link to article:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658689695383x296333176522610940/Sydney%20McLaughlin%20Broke%20Her%20Own%20World%20Record.%20Again.%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
