Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: The Hurdle-Breaking Phenomenon of Track and Field

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has set a new world record in the 400-meter hurdles race by running it in 50.65 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon. This was only her fourth long hurdles race of the season and she crossed all ten barriers smoothly before sprinting to the finish line and breaking the record for the fifth time. Four of her record-breaking runs have occurred at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field. When she saw her time, McLaughlin-Levrone was surprised and amazed by her performance.

In this event that used to be decided by small margins, McLaughlin-Levrone’s victory was by a significant 1.99 seconds over Anna Cockrell and 2.12 seconds over Jasmine Jones. This incredible achievement has forced the track community to rethink what is possible in the sport. Prior to McLaughlin-Levrone’s record-breaking run, the world record for the 400-meter hurdles had remained stuck at 52.34 from 2003-2019. American Dalilah Muhammad broke the record twice in 2019, and her performance at the world championships affected McLaughlin-Levrone and led her to change coaches.

Under the guidance of coach Bobby Kersee, McLaughlin-Levrone made significant adjustments to her technique, including dropping to 14 strides between the early hurdles, which proved to be a game-changer