There was a time when Sydney McLaughlin felt challenged whenever she got to the starting blocks for the 400m hurdles. She knew that she would face challenging competitors, such as Dalilah Muhammad, a runner was an impressive list of achievements. However, McLaughlin has risen to a new league in the past few years. She has continuously demolished the world records by defeating her rivals, making them look like background actors.
On Friday, the Olympic gold medalist McLaughlin broke the world record for the fourth time in two years, demolishing a deep and decorated field in 50.68 seconds to win her first world championship.
McLaughlin grew up in central New Jersey as a teenage prodigy at Union Catholic High School. Experts have recognized McLaughlin as the fastest women’s 400m hurdler in history. After breaking Muhammad’s world record in 2021 at the Olympic trials for the U.S., McLaughlin broke her record again when she won gold at the Tokyo Olympics. Muhammad finished second in both races.
McLaughlin had remained undefeated in the 400m hurdles since 2019, when she lost to Muhammad at the world championship in Doha, Qatar. She has emerged as one of the field’s most dominant athletes in a discipline that should be one of its most competitive. Muhammad, who used to hold the world record until McLaughlin dominated, is an Olympic and World Champion. Although Muhammad has suffered many injuries which have interrupted her training, she is still a fearsome athlete at 32.
McLaughlin said she would discuss her options with her coach Bobby Kersey at the end of the season. She let off the possibility that she could compete for 400- or 100-meter hurdles or some combination of both events. There are still many more championships and records for Laughlin to break.
“My coach thinks there’s a lot more to be done,” she said.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658689695383x296333176522610940/Sydney%20McLaughlin%20Broke%20Her%20Own%20World%20Record.%20Again.%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
On Friday, the Olympic gold medalist McLaughlin broke the world record for the fourth time in two years, demolishing a deep and decorated field in 50.68 seconds to win her first world championship.
McLaughlin grew up in central New Jersey as a teenage prodigy at Union Catholic High School. Experts have recognized McLaughlin as the fastest women’s 400m hurdler in history. After breaking Muhammad’s world record in 2021 at the Olympic trials for the U.S., McLaughlin broke her record again when she won gold at the Tokyo Olympics. Muhammad finished second in both races.
McLaughlin had remained undefeated in the 400m hurdles since 2019, when she lost to Muhammad at the world championship in Doha, Qatar. She has emerged as one of the field’s most dominant athletes in a discipline that should be one of its most competitive. Muhammad, who used to hold the world record until McLaughlin dominated, is an Olympic and World Champion. Although Muhammad has suffered many injuries which have interrupted her training, she is still a fearsome athlete at 32.
McLaughlin said she would discuss her options with her coach Bobby Kersey at the end of the season. She let off the possibility that she could compete for 400- or 100-meter hurdles or some combination of both events. There are still many more championships and records for Laughlin to break.
“My coach thinks there’s a lot more to be done,” she said.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658689695383x296333176522610940/Sydney%20McLaughlin%20Broke%20Her%20Own%20World%20Record.%20Again.%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
