On July 22nd, American runner Sydney McLaughlin set track history yet again, after shattering her previous record of 51.41 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles. With an electric time of 50.68 seconds, McLaughlin blazed past a tough group of athletes, including Femke Bol of the Netherlands (52.27 seconds) and Dalilah Muhammad (53.13 seconds).
Both Bol and Muhammad are well-decorated athletes with a plethora of achievements under their belts. Muhammad, a thirty-two-year-old, is an Olympic and world champion with two gold medals under her belt. Similarly to McLaughlin, Bol, a fellow twenty-two-year-old, won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, and has a number of European championships under her belt.
Just a few years earlier, such talented runners would have posed as troublesome competition for the twenty-two-year-old. Now however, these hurdlers have been pushed into the background as McLaughlin has stolen the spotlight, posing the question: just when will she break the world record next?
To put things into perspective, McLaughlin’s previous record for the 400m hurdles was set just twenty-seven days earlier at the United States championships. Despite such rapid progression, McLaughlin stated it “wasn’t even as upper clean race”. Instead, she believes that there is still room for improvement, and that “we can run a lot faster than people think.”
McLaughlin, a native of New Jersey, has been the best female hurdler in the past decade, with one exhilarating performance after another while simultaneously shattering records. And for the future? Her coach, Bobby Kersee, believes there is still much to be done, as McLaughlin continues to chase medals and demolish records.
Both Bol and Muhammad are well-decorated athletes with a plethora of achievements under their belts. Muhammad, a thirty-two-year-old, is an Olympic and world champion with two gold medals under her belt. Similarly to McLaughlin, Bol, a fellow twenty-two-year-old, won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, and has a number of European championships under her belt.
Just a few years earlier, such talented runners would have posed as troublesome competition for the twenty-two-year-old. Now however, these hurdlers have been pushed into the background as McLaughlin has stolen the spotlight, posing the question: just when will she break the world record next?
To put things into perspective, McLaughlin’s previous record for the 400m hurdles was set just twenty-seven days earlier at the United States championships. Despite such rapid progression, McLaughlin stated it “wasn’t even as upper clean race”. Instead, she believes that there is still room for improvement, and that “we can run a lot faster than people think.”
McLaughlin, a native of New Jersey, has been the best female hurdler in the past decade, with one exhilarating performance after another while simultaneously shattering records. And for the future? Her coach, Bobby Kersee, believes there is still much to be done, as McLaughlin continues to chase medals and demolish records.
