By: Evan Yang

On July 22, American runner Sydney McLaughlin stunned the world by breaking her own record for the fourth time in just 13 months. She raced against Dutch athlete Femke Bol and former world champion Dalilah Muhammad in the 2022 World Athletic Championships. She claimed the gold medal with a time of 50.68 seconds in the 400-meter hurdle world record.

McLaughlin previously set the world record of 51.90 seconds at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, then beat that time at the Tokyo Olympics, when she ran the event in 51.46 seconds. Despite these incredible records, McLaughlin still sees room for improvement.

“[I’m] just figuring out what barriers can be broken,” she says. “I only get faster from here.”

At 22, she is the second youngest athlete to hold the three largest titles in a single event (Olympic gold, world title, and world record).

McLaughlin was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and ran for Union Catholic Regional High School. She also signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Kentucky to run for their Track and Field team.

McLaughlin’s next step is unclear. She has been discussing whether to continue in the 400-meter hurdles with her coach, the legendary Bobby Kersee. On July 24, she ran in the 4x100m relays at worlds.