Shortly after Sydney McLaughlin had smashed her own 400m hurdles world record in running these championships, indeed most championships, she was presented with her gold medal and $100,000 bonus by the world president of athletics, Seb Coe. “It’s the best 100 grand I’ve spent today,” he joked.
Like everyone else in Eugene, Coe was captivated after a spectacular performance by the 22-year-old American, who has set world records in every age category since she was 14 and shows no signs of stopping- yes And the Olympic champion’s latest victory, in an extraordinary 50.68 seconds, was her best to date. Not only did she shave 0.73 seconds off her previous mark set at Hayward Field last month, but she also became the first woman to run under 51 seconds in the event.
It was the sixth time in three years that the world record has been broken, after Russia’s Yulia Pechonkina’s mark of 52.34 seconds had stood for 16 years. For good measure, McLaughlin was also miles short of the next two best 400m hurdlers ever, with Holland’s Femke Bol taking silver in 52.27 seconds and fellow American Dalilah Muhammad taking bronze in 53.13 seconds.
Later in the night, his fellow medalists were asked if they thought 50.68 seconds was a time they never thought possible. “I definitely thought 50 was possible, and after this run I think 49 is possible, for Sydney,” Muhammad laughed.
And the scary news for his rivals is that McLaughlin believes he could have gone even faster. “We thought we could go a little faster,” he said. “But we’re very grateful with this time. Anything under 51 was a win for us. I think there’s always more to improve on. There’s always more to shave off, for sure. There’s no such thing as a perfect race , but I don’t think it was a super clean race.”
It was the first world record broken at this year’s World Championships, the first on American soil, and a much-needed boost for the American women, who have excelled in the field events but had fallen behind on the track . McLaughlin’s success sent shock waves through the world of athletics. “It’s special,” Allyson Felix, the most decorated woman on the track, wrote on Twitter. “In a class of its own.”
Gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin recovers alongside official mascot Legend the Bigfoot. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters
McLaughlin said she felt like she was in a “flow state” during those 50 seconds where she was “putting everything you’ve done in practice into the race, just letting your body do what it does. . unleashing the gifts and talents that God has given you. you.” Now, however, they hope for new frontiers, with McLaughlin planning to discuss a possible crack at the 400m and even the 110m hurdles with coach Bobby Kersee in the coming months.
“Bobby and I will come back after the season, decide if it’s still an event I want to do, or if we find something else because I think we’ve accomplished a lot,” McLaughlin. said “It could be the 400m. Everything is possible. Bobby will let me know. I follow what he says.
“We talk about doubles, we talk about change,” he added. “Honestly, I have no idea.”