Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ran and jumped into a new women’s 400-meter hurdles world record for the fifth time on Sunday.
“I would love to dip under 50 at some point,” Levrone said. “I don’t know if that’s this year or if that’s next year. Just always chipping away, seeing what’s possible and continuing to improve the race.”
Coming in at 50.65 seconds, Levrone, of New Brunswick, shaved off 0.03 seconds from her previous record, which was also set at Eugene’s Hayward Field two years ago, during the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, CNN reported on Monday.
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting that time,” McLaughlin-Levrone later told reporters. “Knowing that there is more there and there is more to fix just is a confidence booster heading into Paris,” she added.
Levrone’s latest milestone performance has secured her a spot on the U.S. women’s track team for the upcoming Paris Olympics, which is set to begin on July 26.
Running in lane five, McLaughlin-Levrone, 24, was leading the race by the 250-meter mark and had opened up a huge lead as she raced down the home straight, CNN reported.
She finished almost two seconds ahead of Anna Cockrell in second place, with a look of disbelief on her face as she crossed the line and caught her breath.
“She just broke the world record, and it’s like we’re not even shocked anymore,” said Dalilah Muhammad, the 2016 Olympic champion and the last person to beat McLaughlin-Levrone in a 400 hurdles race. “She’s just an amazing talent, a generational talent.”
She will go to the Paris Olympics as one of the stars of the U.S. team and a strong favorite to defend her title from three years ago, with Dutch athlete Femke Bol likely to provide the strongest competition, CNN reported.
Levrone’s exceptional talents are undoubtedly inherited from her family’s athletic background. Her father, Willie, made the 400m semi-finals at the 1984 U.S. Olympic trials. Her mother was a middle-distance runner with older brother Tyler winning 400m hurdles silver at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships, according to Olympics.com.
However, Levrone has surpassed her entire family.
By 16, the New Jersey native had already claimed her first Gatorade high school athlete of the year award, rewritten the high school record book and made her first U.S. Olympic team, Yahoo Sports reported on Sunday.
Cockrell and Jasmine Jones completed the podium at the US Trials with personal-best times of 52.64 and 52.77 to qualify for the Paris Games.
“I would love to dip under 50 at some point,” Levrone said. “I don’t know if that’s this year or if that’s next year. Just always chipping away, seeing what’s possible and continuing to improve the race.”
“There are so many different ways to run it and I feel like every time I’m on the track, I’m figuring out what’s the best way,” she added.
McLaughlin-Levrone now owns seven of the 10 fastest times in history over the 400m hurdles, while four of her five world records have been set at Hayward Field.
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