Sydney McLaughlin Breaks World Record in Women’s 400 Meter Hurdles at Olympic Trials

The Covid delayed Olympics are still on in Tokyo in July, and the final trials for the U.S. teams are wrapping up. It appears that the representatives for Women’s 400 meter hurdles are rock solid for the U.S.

Back in 2016, then 16 year old Sydney McLaughlin went to the games in Rio de Janeiro in the 400 hurdles; she didn’t get a medal but you have to figure that a 16 year old track Olympian has a bright future ahead. This was proven in the Olympic trial final in Eugene, Oregon on June 27th. In the Finals, McLaughlin checked off a lot of boxes.

McLaughlin not only won the race to qualify for the Olympic team, she did so by setting the World Record at 51.90 seconds, which is also the first time a woman has run the event under 52 seconds. The previous record holder, Dalilah Muhammad, was second. Those two will compete in this event in Tokyo, and will be joined by third place finisher Anna Cockrell.