Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone insists and insists that her biggest competition in any race is from the 10 hurdles that circle the track.
These days, those are no problem. The real thing she’s running against is the clock.
McLaughlin-Levrone once again broke her own world record, powering over the 400-meter hurdles in 50.37 seconds Thursday night to defend her Olympic title.
The 25-year-old American has now lowered the world record six times. She was in the lead around the corner and breezed down the homestretch to beat teammate Anna Cockrell by 1.50 seconds.
“Obviously, there are people next to you and they’re going to push you, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t focus on the barriers in front of you,” McLaughlin-Levrone explained. “That was my focus, trying to be as efficient as I could over my 10 hurdles and trying to lower that time every time.”
McLaughlin-Levrone had set the old record, 50.65 seconds, on June 30 at the U.S. Olympic trials.
This was billed as one of the must-see races at the Stade de France, given the rivalry between McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol of the Netherlands. Cockrell crashed the party, with Bol finishing third. She walked down the track, shaking her head.
McLaughlin-Levrone will make competitors do that.
“I screwed it up,” Bol said. “I’m not sure where I made the mistake. I just got so much lactic acid with 300 meters to go. I’m not sure why; I really have no explanation. This is just a bad race.”
Once McLaughlin-Levrone crossed the finish line, she looked up at the scoreboard and gave a quick smile. She makes breaking records look almost like a stroll in the park.
