Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's record-breaking Olympics in 400m hurdles: Decoding her campaign
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of USA scripted history to become the first female athlete to win back-to-back Olympic 400m hurdles titles on August 8. The 25-year-old ace triumphed at the 2024 Paris Olympics as she piped reigning world champion Femke Bol of the Netherlands to take gold. She clocked a time of 50.37 seconds, which is now a world record. Here we decode her campaign.
Sydney's stellar run in Paris
Sydney advanced to the semi-finals by topping Heat 5 with a time of 53.60sec. Only Netherlands's Femke Bol, who was placed in Heat 3, clocked a better timing in this round (53.38). Meanwhile, Sydney's compatriot Jasmine Jones also went past the finishing line in 53.60sec. All the three aforementioned athletes hence moved to the semis.
Sydney's sensational run continues
Sydney bettered her timing in the next stage as she clocked 52.13 to top Heat 2 in semis. Netherlands's Femke Bol (52.57) and USA's Anna Cockrell (52.90), both placed in Heat 3, were the only other athletes to finish under 53 seconds in this round. Hence, Sydney was the favorite heading into the finals, where she had to compete with seven other athletes.
World record in the summit clash
No athlete was anywhere near Sydney in the final as she took just 50.37sec to go past the finishing line. She hence broke her own old world record of 50.6sec, which she clocked at the 2024 Olympic Trials on June 30. This was the third time in 26 months that Sydney broke her world record as she clocked 50.68sec in July 2022.
Sydney held the previous Olympic record
Notably, the previous Olympic record also belonged to Sydney as she clocked 51.46sec in the final of the 2020 Tokyo Games. She hence has become the first woman with multiple Olympic golds in 400m hurdles. Jamaica's Deon Hemmings (1 gold, 1 silver), USA's Dalilah Muhammad (1 gold, 1 silver), and Netherlands's Femke Bol (2 bronze) are the other multiple medalists in this event.
Sydney's other Olympic gold
Sydney made her Olympics debut at the Rio de Janeiro Games but failed to secure a final berth. Meanwhile, her only other Olympic medal is also a gold, which came at the 2020 event. She teamed up with compatriots Allyson Felix, Dalilah Muhammad, and Athing Mu for the 4 × 400m relay and the quartet tasted glory. They clocked 3:16.85 minutes in the final.
