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There will come a time, no doubt, when Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will reach the limits of human possibility in the women’s 400m hurdles and stop rewriting the laws of physics. Not now, not yet. In front of a delirious crowd at the Stade de France in Paris, she broke a new world record in a stunning defence of her Olympic crown.
The race was billed as a showdown between McLaughlin-Levrone and Dutch rival Femke Bol, the only two women in history to break the 51-second barrier. But the American was on a different level, winning gold in a time of 50.37 seconds, well ahead of the field.
In doing so, she improved by nearly three-tenths of a second on the record she set at the U.S. trials in June. Few athletes have ever displayed such brilliant consistency as McLaughlin-Levrone, who has now run the fastest time in history in each of her last six major championship finals.
Behind her, Bol settled for bronze in 52.15 seconds after being beaten in the final straight by American Anna Cockrell, who clocked 51.87 seconds for silver.
There are some mind-boggling statistics behind McLaughlin-Levrone’s run. Consider the women’s 400m, a flat-course race with no hurdles, which culminates in the Olympic final on Friday night. There were 24 semi-finalists, and if McLaughlin-Levrone had broken that world record alongside them, with 10 hurdles to clear, she would have been ninth fastest, narrowly missing out on a place in the final.
She had signed up to compete in the 200m and 400m at the U.S. trials in June, but dropped out when she realized how busy her schedule would be in Paris. Instead, she chose to focus on the 400m hurdles — “my first love” — and defend her Olympic title from Tokyo. She did so by crossing an entirely new time zone.
“I’m grateful to God for this opportunity, grateful to be able to celebrate my birthday like this,” said McLaughlin-Levrone, who turned 25 on Wednesday.
“Every race is a battle against 10 hurdles. There are people who will push you, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t focus on the obstacles in front of you. That was my goal, I was trying to be as efficient as possible over my 10 hurdles, trying to reduce that time each time.”
How does she find new ways to go faster?
“There are so many different ways to run, there are so many different ways to improve. Between stride, landing time, flat speed, you always have to try to improve those things. There is no perfect race, but the closer you get to 49 seconds, the closer I feel like you get.”
“I’ll have to come back and watch the race. You also have to develop the ability of your legs to support such speed over such a long period.”
Despite his exploits, there was still an element of mystery heading into the race. McLaughlin-Levrone had only raced against Bol twice before and not at all for over two years.
She ran a world record of 50.65 seconds at the trials to book her place in Paris, but Femke Bol responded with a 50.95 seconds at a pre-Games meeting in Switzerland, and the seeds of rivalry were sown.
The Dutch fans believed it. Orange placards filled the Stade de France and the roar that greeted Bol’s arrival let him know they were there.
Bol made a good start and there was little to choose between the favourites entering the back straight. But there McLaughlin-Levrone found his rhythm, looking perfectly balanced, taking every obstacle as a slight inconvenience rather than a 30in (76cm) high barrier.
Bol faltered and then revealed his frustration with a time more than a second off his sub-51 set last month.
“All you want to do in an Olympic final is to do your best race,” she said. “I messed up. I don’t know exactly where I made the mistake. I just had too much lactic acid with 300m to go. I don’t know why, I really have no explanation. It was just a bad race. I’ll look at the positives, I’ll talk to my coach. I’ll try to enjoy the bronze medal.”
Cockrell was the beneficiary of Bol’s lackluster run, though she gave Beyoncé most of the credit.
“I’m just overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed,” said the 26-year-old Californian. “There’s not much to say when you have a personal best and you win a medal. Everything went as well as it could have. My coach just told me to have fun, be myself, go out there and be Beyoncé.”
“I was singing Love at the top in the call room, so congratulations to Beyoncé. I’m really happy. I’m crying, but I’m really happy.
By the time she crossed the finish line, McLaughlin-Levrone was already celebrating. What else can she do? The 400m flat is a goal and it’s not hard to imagine her attempting both events in Los Angeles in four years.
Perhaps there was a hint of her next trick in the replays of that win. She dove five metres too early and was already getting up when she crossed the line. McLaughlin-Levrone left time on the road, meaning the 50-second barrier is not safe.
“I wasn’t looking at the clock,” she said. “When I crossed the line, I was grateful. I was hoping it would be a little faster.”
