One of the most anticipated head-to-head matchups of the track and field portion of the 2024 Paris Olympics was Team USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and The Netherlands’ Femke Bol in the women’s 400-meter hurdles. McLaughlin-Levrone entered as the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder, whereas Bol won the 2023 world title (when McLaughlin-Levrone didn’t compete due to injury) and is the second-fastest in history.
It was not even a contest.
In the final 150 meters, McLaughlin-Levrone left Bol and everyone else in the dust, making it seem like she was somehow in a lane without any 30-inch barriers in her way. She crossed the finish line in a ridiculous 50.37 seconds, lowering her previous world record by nearly 0.3 seconds.
Bol, who won gold with a tremendous comeback in the mixed 4×400 meters relay over the USA, surprisingly drifted to bronze behind American Anna Cockrell, whose 51.87 seconds is a personal best and makes her the fourth-fastest in history.
The dominance of McLaughlin-Levrone in this event is unmatched. Her last six championship races, US or global, have all been world record wins.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s personal world record progression
2020 US Olympic Trials (held in 2021) – 51.90 seconds (previous record: 52.16 seconds by Dalilah Muhammad)
2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021) – 51.46 seconds
2022 US World Championship Trials – 51.41 seconds
2022 World Championships – 50.68 seconds
2024 US Olympic Trials – 50.65 seconds
2024 Paris Olympics – 50.37 seconds
You have to go back to the 2019 World Championships for Sydney’s last loss in the 400m hurdles, when Muhammad lowered her previous record from 52.20 to 52.16. Russia’s Yuliya Pechonkina had the world record from 2003 to 2019 at 52.34, and McLaughlin-Levrone has bettered that mark by nearly two full seconds over the past five years.
McLaughlin-Levrone is slated to compete in the 4×400 meters relay, where she’s been Team USA’s anchor leg in their gold medal wins in the Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 World Championships in Eugene.
Unfortunately, the timetable does not usually align for an unthinkable 400m flat/400m hurdles double in major championships, but when you consider McLaughlin-Levrone’s personal best in the flat is 48.74 seconds, it’s hard not to think about the possibility of her at least switching to the flat at some point. She clearly has no equal in the 400m hurdles and is the GOAT.
