McLaughlin-Levrone runs 50.65 to break world record and qualify to defend Olympic title

EUGENIO, Oregon. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone lowered her world record once again, running the 400 meter hurdles in 50.65 seconds on Sunday to win the US Olympic Trials.

In just her fourth long steeplechase race of the season, the 24-year-old defending Olympic champion cleared all 10 hurdles with ease and then sprinted to the line to break the record for the fifth time. Four of these brands have already been implemented at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.

She placed her hand over her mouth and was surprised when she saw the time arrive. The mark was 0.03 seconds better than her run in Hayward at the 2022 world championships.

“My husband asked me yesterday, ‘What do you think you can do?’ and I told him “I don’t know,” McLaughlin-Levrone said in an interview over the stadium’s public address system. “So today I crossed the line and thought, ‘Oh no.’ I’m blessed and happy to be here.”

In a race that used to be decided by stages or chips, McLaughlin-Levrone’s victory was 1.99 seconds over Anna Cockrell and 2.12 over Jasmine Jones.

It doesn’t reset the Olympics storyline – McLaughlin-Levrone would have been the heavy favorite anyway – but it does make the track rethink what’s possible.

From 2003 to 2019, the world record in this event remained at 52.34. American Dalilah Muhammad broke twice in 2019 – the second time at the world championships in a race that demoralized McLaughlin-Levrone and prompted a move to coach Bobby Kersee.

Kersee changed everything for her. One of the biggest adjustments was dropping her to 14 strides between the first hurdles. It was a game-changer that put her in a class by herself since she first set the record in 2021 – on the final day of testing at the track in Eugene, just like this time.

“I have grown as a person and as an athlete” with Kersee at the helm, McLaughlin-Levrone said. “He challenges me and pushes me in ways I didn’t think were possible.”

Now, instead of a long-awaited showdown with Femke Bol of the Netherlands, talk may revolve around when the 50-second mark might fall in this race. Perhaps as early as August 8th, the date of the Olympic final in Paris.

“It could happen,” great athlete Edwin Moses told the Associated Press. “She might need a few more runs, but that’s about it.”

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