Sydney McLaughlin, an American hurdler and sprinter, is breaking world records yet again. McLaughlin is constantly improving. While she is already an Olympic gold medalist, last Friday night, she broke the world record in the 400-meter hurdle for the fourth time in two years, finishing at 50.68 seconds at her first world championship. The world record was 51.41.
Femke Bol was second with 52.27 seconds, and Dalilah Muhammad was third with 53.13.
McLaughlin would have beaten two of the women who advanced to Friday’s 400-meter final while clearing ten hurdles. She also finished 0.73 seconds faster than her previous world record, which she set 27 days earlier at the U.S. championships.
With that said, McLaughlin still sees room for improvement.
“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.
Muhammad, who held the previous world record, is an Olympic/world champion. While injuries have disrupted her training, she is still an intimidating athlete.
“I was kind of nervous, honestly, going into this meet, not knowing where my fitness level would be. So, to get a medal shows my resilience as an athlete,” Muhammad said.
Bol, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, could be the rival who pushes McLaughlin in the 2024 Paris Olympics. She holds the seventh-fastest time in history.
From the middle of the race to the end, McLaughlin was in the lead by a considerable distance. No one was even close to her.
“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,” she said.
Going forward, McLaughlin said she would consider options with her coach, Bobby Kersee. She could compete in the 400-meter or the 100-meter hurdles-or a combination of events. Regardless of what she does, there are certainly more records to break and more history to make.
Femke Bol was second with 52.27 seconds, and Dalilah Muhammad was third with 53.13.
McLaughlin would have beaten two of the women who advanced to Friday’s 400-meter final while clearing ten hurdles. She also finished 0.73 seconds faster than her previous world record, which she set 27 days earlier at the U.S. championships.
With that said, McLaughlin still sees room for improvement.
“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.
Muhammad, who held the previous world record, is an Olympic/world champion. While injuries have disrupted her training, she is still an intimidating athlete.
“I was kind of nervous, honestly, going into this meet, not knowing where my fitness level would be. So, to get a medal shows my resilience as an athlete,” Muhammad said.
Bol, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, could be the rival who pushes McLaughlin in the 2024 Paris Olympics. She holds the seventh-fastest time in history.
From the middle of the race to the end, McLaughlin was in the lead by a considerable distance. No one was even close to her.
“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,” she said.
Going forward, McLaughlin said she would consider options with her coach, Bobby Kersee. She could compete in the 400-meter or the 100-meter hurdles-or a combination of events. Regardless of what she does, there are certainly more records to break and more history to make.
