By: Amy Xu

A few years ago, professional athlete Sydney McLaughlin would feel daunted when approaching her opponents in the 400-meter hurdle. However, McLaughlin has made a name for herself as a record breaker. She has continuously obliterated numerous world records, including her own. On Friday night, the Olympic gold medalist once again broke her record for the 400-meter hurdles.

She won her first world championship with a time of 50.68 seconds. Femke Bol of the Netherlands got second place with 52.27 seconds, and Dalilah Muhammad from America placed third with a time of 53.13.

27 days ago, McLaughlin set a new world record for 400-meter hurdles. During Friday’s 400-meter race, she cut the time by 0.73 seconds. And yet, McLaughlin still believes there’s room for improvement.

“I think we’re all figuring out that, yes, there are 10 barriers, but we can run them a lot faster than people think,” says McLaughlin.

She and her coach, Bobby Kersee, believe that there are many more records to break. The hurdler also proposed expanding her career by competing in 100-meter hurdles as well as a combination of events.

“My coach thinks there’s a lot more to be done,” she said.