Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the USA delivered a historic performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Thursday, August 8, shattering her own world record in the 400m hurdles with a time of 50.37 seconds. This remarkable achievement not only secured her a successful defense of her Olympic title but also improved her previous record by 0.28 seconds.
The event saw Dutch athlete Femke Bol, who had won gold in the mixed 4x400m relay earlier in the Games, finish in third place with a time of 52.15 seconds. Bol was overtaken in the final stages by McLaughlin-Levrone’s teammate, Anna Cockrell, who clinched the silver medal with a personal best of 51.87 seconds. Cockrell’s time moves her to fourth on the world all-time list.
In a post-race interview, McLaughlin-Levrone expressed her gratitude, saying, “Grateful to God for this opportunity, grateful to be celebrating my 25th birthday like this. It was yesterday, just a super opportunity, you can’t even imagine. It’s amazing to see our sport continue to grow, for people to want to watch the 400m hurdles.”
Bol, reflecting on her performance, acknowledged her disappointment. “All you want to do in an Olympic final is to put up your best race. I screwed it up,” she said. “I’m not sure where I made the mistake. I just got so much lactic acid with 300 meters to go. I’m not sure why, I really have no explanation. This is just a bad race. I’ll look at the positives, I’ll talk to my coach, I’ll try to enjoy the bronze.”
Throughout the race, Bol appeared competitive but fell behind as McLaughlin-Levrone pulled away decisively in the final stretch. Bol, visibly stunned, shook her head and slapped her face as McLaughlin-Levrone crossed the finish line with a significant lead.
Bol had raised hopes with a European record time of 50.95 seconds in July, but McLaughlin-Levrone’s dominance was clear. The American’s previous world records of 50.68 and 50.65 seconds, set in 2022 and 2024 respectively, had already set a high bar.
After her victory, McLaughlin-Levrone rang the trackside bell, draped in the American flag and wearing a tiara. Despite her success, she admitted to pre-race nerves. “1000%. Especially before the Olympic final,” she said. “There is so much talent in this event. There are also 10 barriers you have to get over to cross that finish line.”
McLaughlin-Levrone attributed her continued improvement to refining her technique and race strategy. “There’s no such thing as a perfect race, but the closer and closer we can get to 49 seconds, I feel like it’s inching there,” she noted.
Cockrell, who improved her personal best from 52.64 seconds to 51.87 seconds, was overwhelmed by her performance. “I’m just overcome,” she said. “My coach told me to have fun, be myself, go out there and be Beyoncé. I was singing ‘Love On Top’ in the call room, so shout out to Beyoncé!”
Jasmine Jones, another American competitor, finished fourth with a personal best of 52.29 seconds. Jamaican athletes Rushell Clayton and Shiann Salmon secured fifth and sixth places with times of 52.68 and 53.29 seconds, respectively. The home crowd also cheered for French athlete Louise Maraval, who finished eighth with a time of 54.53 seconds, behind Canada’s Savannah Sutherland, who clocked 53.88 seconds.
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