Athletics-McLaughlin breaks own women's 400m hurdles world record

Olympic gold medallist Sydney McLaughlin broke her own women's 400 metres hurdles world record at the U.S. championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday, winning the final in 51.41 seconds. The 22-year-old wrested the lead early and never gave the rest of the field a fighting chance, clinching her spot in the world championships in front of an adoring crowd.


Reuters | Updated: 26-06-2022 04:03 IST | Created: 26-06-2022 04:03 IST
Athletics-McLaughlin breaks own women's 400m hurdles world record

Olympic gold medallist Sydney McLaughlin broke her own women's 400 metres hurdles world record at the U.S. championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday, winning the final in 51.41 seconds.

The 22-year-old wrested the lead early and never gave the rest of the field a fighting chance, clinching her spot in the world championships in front of an adoring crowd. "I was just gonna finish the race, knew anything was possible," she said.

Britton Wilson finished 1.67 seconds behind with Shamier Little taking third in 53.92. "We're going to represent the USA well, we're all going to try to get on the podium," said McLaughlin.

Running out of lane five, McLaughlin put on a flawless performance with her opponents offering little in the way of pressure to push her toward the finish line. McLaughlin, who also collected a relay gold in Tokyo, offered a subdued smile and double thumbs up as her accomplishment became clear.

She previously set the record with a 51.90-seconds performance at the U.S. Olympic trials a year ago, only to shatter that figure in Tokyo, collecting gold in 51.46. McLaughlin, who picked up silver in the event in 2019 in Doha, faces a potential showdown at worlds with chief rival and reigning champion Dalilah Muhammad, who was absent from the national championships due to injury.

She lost to Muhammad by seven hundredths of a second at the 2019 Doha world championships. McLaughlin produced a 52.90-second win in Friday's semi-final round and a 54.11-second victory in the preliminary heats on Thursday.

The top three finishers in Eugene, Oregon, who meet certain qualifying standards, and reigning global title-holders will compete at the world championships, which will be held in the United States for the first time from July 15 at the same track.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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