Sydney McLaughlin-Levron cemented her status as one of the most dominant athletes of the modern era by winning the Olympic 400m hurdles final, breaking her own world record in 50.37 seconds.
“It’s amazing to see our sport continue to grow, it’s amazing that people want to watch the 400m hurdles. It’s been a lot of hard work this year,” he said after the race. “I know it’s going to be a tough race. A fantastic match all the way around. “
She confirmed her mastery in an event in Stade de France on Thursday night in which she broke the world record six times when she easily beat strong Dutch star Femke Boll (52.15) to third place. USA’s Anna Cockrell won silver in 51.87.
“I’ve sacrificed a lot, my family has sacrificed a lot,” Cockrell said. “To do this today, when it counts the most, on the biggest stages, here with my whole family, we’re all crying with our eyes closed. I am truly a talker, I have no words.
McLaughlin-Levrone didn’t break a sweat when he came home by a huge margin. When the world record was confirmed, she looked up at the video board. At this point, such feats are almost routine for her. He is expected to run in the 4x400m relay this weekend, where he could win the third Olympic gold of his career.
Along with Jupiter’s gold, Michael Johnson’s 400m in 1996 and 2000.
It was a perfect birthday present for McLaughlin-Levrone, who turned 25 on Wednesday.
“Thank you for celebrating my 25th birthday like this. It was yesterday, a super opportunity, you can’t even imagine,” she said. “My whole family is here. We’re going to celebrate, we’re going to enjoy this time and get ready for the relay.
Ball was distraught after the race and admitted she had got her tactics wrong, although it was unclear what she could have done to prevent McLaughlin-Levron from winning gold.
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“I screwed it up,” Boll said. “I don’t know where I went wrong. With 300m to go I got lactic acid. I don’t know why, I have no explanation. It was a bad race.
Earlier in the evening, the Americans won two medals in the 200 meters: Noah Lyles took bronze in the 100 meters and Kenny Bednarek won gold behind Letzile Tepoko of Botswana who took silver. It was revealed after the race that Lyles had contracted Covid.
The United States won another gold when Grant Holloway won the men’s 110m hurdles ahead of teammate Daniel Roberts late Thursday. Jamaica’s Rasheed Bradbell won bronze. Holloway was relieved and happy: he was a three-time world champion, but never won gold at the Olympics.
