Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wins women’s 400m World Championship gold in second-fastest time ever
McLaughlin-Levrone won gold in the women's 400m in a new world championship record time.
By Ben Morse, CNN
(CNN) — American track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won gold in the women’s 400m at the World Athletics Championships on Thursday, running the second-fastest time ever.
McLaughlin-Levrone – who typically runs hurdles – completed the race in a world championship record 47.78 seconds in rainy conditions in Tokyo, surpassing the previous mark of 47.99 seconds set by Jarmila Kratochvílová in 1983.
The 26-year-old’s time was just 0.18 seconds shy of the world record in the event, set by Marita Koch. The German set the mark of 47.60 seconds in 1985 in Canberra, Australia. McLaughlin-Levrone has already set numerous world records in the women’s 400m hurdles.
McLaughlin-Levrone, who is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the 2022 world champion in the women’s 400m hurdles, looked at ease in the final despite being a newcomer in the event and facing the top three in the women’s 400m at last year’s Summer Olympics in the form of Marileidy Paulino, Salwa Eid Naser and Natalia Bukowiecka.
Having already broken the US record for the race in the semifinals, she exploded off the starting blocks with a purpose.
As the runners rounded the bend onto the final straight, McLaughlin-Levrone, Paulino and Naser were almost side-by-side until a powerful burst from the American star saw her build herself a lead.
Although Paulino attempted to pip McLaughlin-Levrone to the finish line, it was not to be as she added yet another gold medal to her already-full trophy cabinet.
Dominican Republic’s Paulino claimed silver in a national record 47.98 seconds while Naser of Bahrain earned bronze, running 48.19 seconds.
McLaughlin-Levrone and Paulino’s times in the final are the third and fourth instances ever that a woman has run the 400m in less than 48 seconds. The first two times that happened both came in the 1980s.
Just a few moments before, Busang Collen Kebinatshipi of Botswana took gold in the men’s 400m, while his compatriot Bayapo Ndori got bronze.
The 21-year-old Kebinatshipi completed the race in 43.53 seconds, with Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards finishing second in 43.72 seconds.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect McLaughlin-Levrone’s current status as a one-time world champion in the 400m hurdles.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
