By: Grace Zheng

Several years ago, Sydney McLaughlin was challenged whenever she raced in the 400-meter hurdles. She would face rigid competition from people like hurdler Daliah Muhammad, who has held the world record for the 400-meter hurdles for 3 years. However, in recent times, McLaughlin has brought herself to a higher level, one where she would constantly crush her opponents.

Already the reigning Olympic gold medalist, McLaughlin on Friday broke her own world record for the fourth time in two years, “demolishing a deep and decorated field in 50.68 seconds to win her first world championship,” according to an article in the New York Times.

Femke Bol of the Netherlands placed second in 52.27 seconds, and Muhammad placed third in 53.13.

McLaughlin cut 0.73 seconds from her previous time that she made around a month ago at the U.S. Championships. Somehow, McLaughlin still sees room for improvement.

Muhammad, 32, who used to carry the world record until McLaughlin arrived, had suffered from many injuries that interrupted her training. She was glad to receive a third-place medal and thought it showed her resilience as an athlete.

Bol, 22 and a Dutch athlete, won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics behind McLaughlin and Muhammad. She could be a contemporary opponent who pushes McLaughlin hard.

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“McLaughlin, who grew up in central New Jersey and was a teenage prodigy at Union Catholic High School, is simply the fastest women’s 400-meter hurdler in history,” an article in the New York Times states.

There are still more championships to chase and records to break for the amazing hurdler Sydney McLaughlin.

Source: https://nytimes.com/2022/07/22/sports/sydney-mclaughlin-400-hurdles.html