Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone produced a stunning performance at the World Athletics Championships, winning the women’s 400m in 47.78 seconds — the fastest time recorded in the event since 1985.
Historic run in Tokyo
The American, already a two-time Olympic champion in the 400m hurdles, switched to the flat one-lap race this season. In Thursday’s rain-soaked final, she stormed ahead and held off Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic to capture her first global 400m flat title.
Only East Germany’s Marita Koch, who ran 47.60 in 1985, has gone faster — a record long clouded by her country’s state-sponsored doping programme.
Podium finishers
Paulino took silver in 47.98, making her the third-fastest woman in history, while Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser claimed bronze in 48.19. Poland’s Natalia Bukowiecka finished fourth in 49.27, followed by Britain’s Amber Anning in 49.36.
Reaction from the champion
“It’s amazing, it’s an honour,” McLaughlin-Levrone said after the race. “A lot of people doubted me when I switched from the hurdles, but I knew I had it in me. Maybe in Los Angeles 2028, I could do both 400m and 400m hurdles.”
Record chase continues
Paulino admitted lane nine made her race tricky but celebrated breaking 48 seconds for the first time. “Now I have faith I will break the world record,” she said. Naser, meanwhile, called the result a wake-up call: “Very soon the women’s 400m world record will be broken.”
Discussion about this post