Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the United States has established a new World Record in the Women's 400m Hurdles by securing the gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
She surpassed her previous World Record of 50.65 seconds,
which she achieved in Eugene, Oregon, on June 30, 2024, by finishing the race
in Paris with a remarkable time of 50.37 seconds, marking her second Olympic
medal.
Anna Cockrell, also from the USA, earned the silver medal
with a personal best time of 51.87 seconds, while Femke Bol from the
Netherlands claimed the bronze with a time of 52.15 seconds.
McLaughlin-Levrone has made history as the first track
athlete to break four world records in the same event, achieving this feat
within a span of 13 months.
She was the pioneer in breaking both the 52-second barrier
in June 2021 and the 51-second barrier in July 2022 in the 400m hurdles.
Additionally, she won a silver medal at the 2019 World
Championships and contributed to gold medals in the women’s 4 × 400m relay at
all three competitions.
At the age of 15, McLaughlin-Levrone became the 2015 World
Youth Champion and, in 2016, she made history as the youngest athlete since
Denean Howard in 1980 to qualify for the U.S.
Olympic track team, finishing third at the U.S. Olympic
Trials with a world under-18 best time of 54.15 seconds, which also set the
world U20 record.