On July 22nd, American runner Sydney McLaughlin broke another
world record in the 2022 World Athletics Championships at Eugene,
Oregon.
This is the fourth time that McLaughlin has broken a world record in
two years, continuing her reign in the 400 meter hurdles in the
Olympics and the World Championships.
Not satisfied with her huge success in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and
a world record set a month earlier at the U.S. championships, she
kept pushing her personal best. With the time of 50.68 seconds,
McLaughlin smashed her own world record again, beating Femke
Bol, 52.27 seconds, and Dalilah Muhammad, 53.13 seconds.
What makes her success even more impressive? She knows that she
can still 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, adding: “I still
think that wasn’t even a super clean race.”
Growing up in central New Jersey as a teenage prodigy in her high
school, McLaughlin has shown her talent in her early days.
“The first time I saw her run was her freshman year, the indoor
season. She ran the 300 at the Armory in New York. She ran it in 38
seconds, and I was like, ‘That girl is the truth,’” said Lisa Morgan, a
five-time U.S.A. Track & Field junior national team coach. “She
basically came along and wiped most of my coaching records…
[and] she ran this phenomenal anchor leg and nipped [a girl] right at
the line.”
Since the world championships in Doha, Qatar in 2019 where she
finished second behind Muhammad, McLaughlin became undefeated
in the 400-meter hurdles.
Muhammad, who used to dominate 400 meter hurdles before the
emergence of McLaughlin, is also a great athlete at 32 years of age
with a successful career at the Olympics and world championships.
“I was kind of nervous, honestly, going into this meet, not knowing
where my fitness level would be,” Muhammad said. “So to get a
medal shows my resilience as an athlete.”
McLaughlin also discussed with her coach about her future at the
end of the season. “My coach thinks there’s a lot more to be done,”
she said.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/22/sports/sydney-mclaughlin400-hurdles.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/20/sports/sydney-mclaughlincoach.html
world record in the 2022 World Athletics Championships at Eugene,
Oregon.
This is the fourth time that McLaughlin has broken a world record in
two years, continuing her reign in the 400 meter hurdles in the
Olympics and the World Championships.
Not satisfied with her huge success in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and
a world record set a month earlier at the U.S. championships, she
kept pushing her personal best. With the time of 50.68 seconds,
McLaughlin smashed her own world record again, beating Femke
Bol, 52.27 seconds, and Dalilah Muhammad, 53.13 seconds.
What makes her success even more impressive? She knows that she
can still 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, adding: “I still
think that wasn’t even a super clean race.”
Growing up in central New Jersey as a teenage prodigy in her high
school, McLaughlin has shown her talent in her early days.
“The first time I saw her run was her freshman year, the indoor
season. She ran the 300 at the Armory in New York. She ran it in 38
seconds, and I was like, ‘That girl is the truth,’” said Lisa Morgan, a
five-time U.S.A. Track & Field junior national team coach. “She
basically came along and wiped most of my coaching records…
[and] she ran this phenomenal anchor leg and nipped [a girl] right at
the line.”
Since the world championships in Doha, Qatar in 2019 where she
finished second behind Muhammad, McLaughlin became undefeated
in the 400-meter hurdles.
Muhammad, who used to dominate 400 meter hurdles before the
emergence of McLaughlin, is also a great athlete at 32 years of age
with a successful career at the Olympics and world championships.
“I was kind of nervous, honestly, going into this meet, not knowing
where my fitness level would be,” Muhammad said. “So to get a
medal shows my resilience as an athlete.”
McLaughlin also discussed with her coach about her future at the
end of the season. “My coach thinks there’s a lot more to be done,”
she said.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/22/sports/sydney-mclaughlin400-hurdles.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/20/sports/sydney-mclaughlincoach.html