Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone breaks world record, wins gold in 400m hurdles

SAINT-DENIS, France — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is a privilege. A splurge. The immense entertainment from watching her underscores the infrequency of the pleasure.

And perhaps in her scarcity, McLaughlin-Levrone is teaching, whether coincidentally or intentionally. In a culture of instant gratification, fueled by relentless consumption, she refuses to be governed by greed masked as adoration.

She’s her own woman, with her own plan. While she no doubt appreciates the love, she remains unaltered by sports’ obsession with greatness. So when she does appear, rather than lament the infrequency, it’s better to savor.

Thursday, the world indulged. And Sydney, a day after turning 25, owed the thirst for her excellence.

She not only defended her Olympic crown in the 400-meter hurdles, besting Netherlands’ star Femke Bol in a much-anticipated showdown. But McLaughlin-Levrone delivered the race of her life.

She broke the world record for the sixth time: 50.37 seconds. She only needed 300 meters to end the suspense. Really 200 meters. By the time she rounded the final curve, it was her against the clock. She came ever-so close to getting under 50 seconds.

“I wasn’t looking at the clock,” she said. “I crossed the line and was definitely grateful for that time. Was hoping it was a little faster … I’m sure there are some things in the middle there we can clean up.”

It was a dominant performance that left zero doubt about her superiority. A masterpiece on the track in the City of Art. Le Louvre has Mona Lisa. Thursday night, Stade de France had Sydney Michelle.

There’s NO catching Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone!

She adds ANOTHER 400m hurdles gold medal and WORLD RECORD to her collection. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/RJ7reApKfV

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024

In her third Olympics, she earned her third gold medal, second in her preferred discipline. She’s the first woman ever to repeat as Olympic champion of the 400-meter hurdles. Only Glenn Davis has won consecutive golds on the men’s side, in 1956 and 1960. Edwin Moses won in 1976 and 1984, with the US boycotting the 1980 Games in Moscow.

The prodigy McLaughlin-Levrone — who won the under-18 world championship at 15, made her Olympic debut at 16, won an NCAA title at 18 and turned pro at 19 — has grown into the all-time great her talents suggested. In the six years since signing an eye-popping seven-figure deal with New Balance in 2018, she has racked up 10 major championships as a pro: four US Championships, three World Championships and now three Olympic golds. She said she’ll run in the women’s 4×400 relay, so it may well be 10 golds by the weekend.

She has one silver.

That came in 2019 at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, when Delilah Muhammad set a world record at 52.16 seconds. And .07 seconds behind Muhammad was a 19-year-old Sydney. She hasn’t lost a 400-meter hurdles race since.

She’d probably win gold in the 400, the 200 and the 800 if she wanted to. She’s that good. She already opened the door to doing the mixed relays in the future, saying it looks like a fun event. But she wouldn’t reveal any plans about more events.

“All I know is today is Thursday,” she said with a smile. “And tomorrow is Friday.”

That’s what made Thursday so intriguing. Not just the chance to watch McLaughlin-Levrone, but the real threat of a worthy competitor. Bol, 24, entered the night as the only other woman in history to run the 400-meter hurdles in less than 52 seconds, posting a 50.95 in Switzerland last month. Bol — now famous for swallowing America’s monster lead to deliver gold to the Dutch in the 4×400 mixed relay earlier this week — was the only thing sensational enough to make it close.

But McLaughlin-Levrone ended any notion Bol was an equal. Trying to keep up with Sydney’s historic pace exhausted Bol. American Anna Cockrell, who also ran the race of her life, swooped past Bol over the final hurdle and down the stretch. Her personal-best 51.87 earned Cockrell a silver.

“It’s hard to put into words right now,” Cockrell said after winning her first Olympic medal. “Y’all know I’m a yapper. So the fact that I am very much speechless right now. I’m a little bit in shock. I don’t know if it’s from the joy or the exhaustion.”

Bol took bronze in 52.15. Jasmine Jones, the other American in the race, took fourth in 52.29.

If a knock on the Sydney experience exists, it’s in the lack of a rival. Since surpassing Muhammad in Tokyo, McLaughlin-Levrone has been alone. No one to push her to the brink. No one to provoke those seismic moments adversity tends to produce from legends. She’s so good, whatever drama exists before her races evaporates shortly after the gun goes off and it becomes clear the tension was manufactured.

Sydney’s truest foe is her past feats. Her toughest challenge is discovering what she can pull off before finally hitting the ceiling of her ability.

It would add to her lore if they were aligned against other legends. She might have to switch to the 200-meter dash, or compete in multiple individual events, for something daunting. Fortunately, just watching her perform is captivating on its own.

The pre-battle intensity of Mike Tyson. The explosiveness of Serena Williams. The glide of Randy Moss. The regality of Allyson Felix. The competitiveness of Michael Jordan.

To watch Sydney run is to want more. Like eating ice cream. Like slipping on a dope new pair of sneakers. She is the track-and-field illustration of why test drives work. A taste of speed and power and refinement can be intoxicating.

This is why people clamor for another glimpse at, another window into, another moment with McLaughlin-Levrone. Because who knows when she’ll breeze past again.

This was her first international championship since the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Ore. She withdrew from the 2023 Worlds citing a minor knee injury. Since then, it’s been a laser focus on Paris. Most of her 12 meets in those 24 months, save for the US Olympic trials, were tuneups and prep work for the grand stage of the Paris Games.

Maybe Sydney has figured this out. Maybe the low-supply, high-demand approach is best practice in a sport where the intermittent spotlight chews up athletes who dare maximize it. Maybe she understands brilliance is best appreciated when experienced in moderation, so as not to diminish its marvel. Or maybe she’s learned this is the best way to manage the anxieties and pressures she discusses in her autobiography “Far More than Gold.” Maybe this is the way she can be around, and be great, for longer.

Or maybe, she has decided this is all she’ll give, that her purpose is greater than the fleetness of her feet. If any superstar athletes could walk away from it all, Sydney figures to be high on the list.

That only makes Thursday night’s performance all the more valuable. In an environment that will go down as one of the best in the sport’s history — the venue, the vibe and the volume — one of the greatest of all time did her thing. Satisfying the moment’s appetite for spectacular.

Better to savor.

Required reading

(Photo: John David Mercer / USA Today)