Tag: McLaughlin-Levrone

McLaughlin-Levrone, the two-time Olympic 400 metres hurdles champion and the second fastest woman ever in the flat 400m, announced on Thursday that she is expecting a child.

The 26-year-old American broke the news on social media with a series of photos with her husband Andre Levrone and the message: “I made a human with my favourite human.”

The pictures also show the couple admiring scans of the baby.

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McLaughlin-Levrone is track and field’s biggest woman star, having shown at the world championships in Tokyo last year that she can transfer her talents from the hurdles to the 400m flat with stunning success.

In winning the title, she became the first woman since 1985 to break the 48-second barrier and nearly eclipsed a 41-year-old world record set by Marita Koch of the former East Germany.

McLaughlin-Levrone won the Olympic 400m hurdles title at the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Games.

She will likely miss the biggest event of the 2026 calendar, the new World Athletics Ultimate Championships, being held in Budapest on September 11-13.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone teased the possibility of running an extraordinary 400 metre double at her home 2028 Olympics after a sizzling world gold in the flat race silenced the doubters.

The 26-year-old American is the world record holder and two-time Olympic gold medallist in the 400m hurdles but chose to run the flat race at the world championships in Tokyo.

Her decision was emphatically vindicated after clocking the second-fastest time ever, winning in a championship-record 47.78sec.

McLaughlin-Levrone will be on home soil at the 2028 Los Angeles Games and is not ruling out competing in a 400m double bill.

 “We will need to talk about the schedule for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games – maybe I could do both 400m and 400m hurdles,” she said. “I would need some days off between those events and there is a tough field in both events. You’ve got to respect all the girls.

 “In order to put your best performances together, you need your body to be ready for it,” she added.

McLaughlin-Levrone fended off defending champion and Olympic gold medallist Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic to take gold on a rain-slicked Tokyo track.

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Her time smashed the previous championship record of 47.99sec set by Jarmila Kratochvilova of then-Czechoslovakia in 1983.

Some had questioned the wisdom of her decision to step away from the 400m hurdles, an event in which she went unbeaten for six seasons.

She answered her critics in imperious fashion, two days after smashing the US record in the semi-final.

 “I know there was a lot of doubt from a lot of people for me making this switch and I just wanted to show myself I can do it,” said McLaughlin-Levrone. “I see things online. I see what people say and ultimately, that’s okay. I think that’s what makes the sport great. I think they want to see great matchups.

 “They want to see people be uncomfortable and I think today was a really great race for track and field.”

McLaughlin-Levrone was drawn in lane five and made a powerful start in steady rain at Tokyo’s National Stadium.

She put herself in front heading into the final straight although Paulino briefly looked like she might threaten from the outside lane.

Instead McLaughlin-Levrone propelled herself over the line first, falling agonisingly short of the world record of 47.60sec set by Marita Koch of then-East Germany in 1985, one of the oldest records in the books.

She was left gasping for air and took a moment to compose herself before returning to the track and celebrating with her husband Andre.

The new champion said she “knew this feeling was going to be amazing”.

 “It definitely helped having Marileidy Paulino in the outer lane where I could see her, but I still had to get the work done,” said McLaughlin-Levrone.

 “My coach told me to get out of the blocks as fast as possible, not to stay in it for long.

 “I knew the girls were going to push me but what mattered was to stay composed,” she added.

American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone obliterated her own 400 metres hurdles world record with a time of 50.37 seconds to retain her Olympic title.

Anna Cockrell made it a U.S. 1-2 in a time of 51.87 and Dutchwoman Femke Bol, who had been expected to challenge for gold, faded in the last 50 metres to take bronze in 52.15.

It was the sixth time McLaughlin-Levrone had broken the world record, lowering her previous mark of 50.65 set at the U.S. trials in June.

The crowd at the Stade de France went into a frenzy when it became clear a new all-time best was within her reach and she fittingly rang the victory bell with a glittering tiara perched on her head.

The first woman to break the 52 and 51-second barriers, McLaughlin-Levrone has been on a mission to rewrite the history books whenever she competes, turning the 400 hurdles into a marquee event – and herself into a superstar – in the process.

“It’s amazing to see our sport continue to grow, for people to want to watch the 400m hurdles, it’s amazing. Just a lot of hard work put in this year,” she told reporters. “I knew it was going to be a tough race. An amazing competition all the way round.”

She walked to her blocks like a prize fighter stepping into the ring, expressionless despite the chorus of cheers that greeted her, and wrested the lead from the moment the gun went off, gliding over each barrier with ease.

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Bol, the only other woman to have cracked 51 seconds, was widely seen as McLaughlin-Levrone’s closest challenger and had a large Dutch cohort in the stands on her side, but she lost steam five days after she delivered gold in the mixed relay.

McLaughlin-Levrone, the 2022 world champion, was miles ahead of the field down the final straight and she charged ahead in a thrilling race against the clock as Cockrell held on to produce a personal best in second.

“I sacrificed a lot, my family has sacrificed a lot,” said Cockrell.

“To do this today, when it counts the most, on the biggest of stages, with my whole family here, we’re all over there crying our eyes out. I’m truly a talker and I have no words.”

It was the fourth time in a row the United States had won the event on another big medal night for the Americans, as Grant Holloway won the men’s 110 hurdles

American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone got a winning start to her 400 metres hurdles Olympic title defence, preserving her strength and jogging through the finish to advance from the opening round in Paris.

The world record holder did not need anywhere close to her best to cross the line first in the final heat in 53.60 seconds, as she closed out the morning programme at the Stade de France.

Her American compatriots Anna Cockrell (53.91) and Jasmine Jones (53.60) won their respective heats, while Jamaican Rushell Clayton jogged through the finish to win her race in 54.32, and the Netherlands Femke Bol cruised through in 53.38.

McLaughlin-Levrone is the overwhelming favourite after she lowered the world record for the fifth time at her national trials in June with 50.65, and the crowd erupted as she was introduced in lane three.

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McLaughlin-Levrone, who skipped the 2023 worlds due to a knee issue, cleared each hurdle effortlessly and had no one around her as she slowed through the final metres, with Moroccan Noura Ennadi second in 55.26.

Home hope Louise Maraval (55.32) was egged on by the crowd as she finished third in the final heat to move on.

Bol, the only other woman to have cracked 51 seconds in the event, showed no signs of fatigue from her inspired run to the top of the 4×400 mixed relay podium on Saturday, as she cruised through her heat in 53.38.

The top three in each heat advanced to Tuesday’s semi-finals, along with the next three fastest finishers across all heats. The final is set for Thursday.