American Sydney McLaughlin won the gold medal in the 400-m hurdles race on Wednesday morning in Tokyo, in a time of 51.46 seconds, breaking the world record.
Fellow American Dalilah Muhammad ran 51.58 to win silver. Femke Bol of the Netherlands took the bronze medal.
McLaughlin claimed the first U.S. sprint or hurdles gold of the Tokyo Summer Olympics. But it was a blazing race all-around, with Muhammad running a personal best and Bol setting a national record—in addition to McLaughlin’s world-record time.
Thus far in Tokyo, several U.S. favorites in track and field have fallen short. On Tuesday Rai Benjamin, for example, ran the second-fastest time in men’s 400-m hurdles history in Tokyo, 46.17 seconds, but he took home silver, Norway’s Karsten Warholm smashed his own world record by 0.76 seconds, finishing in 45.94 seconds.
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But that was not McLaughlin’s fate. No one was going to catch her. McLaughlin, who hails from New Jersey, turns 22 on Saturday, already has sponsorship deals with New Balance, Tag Heuer, Gatorade and Beats by Dre. With her performance in Tokyo, she’s primed to become one of the new crossover stars of the Olympics—a name familiar to the American public outside the somewhat cloistered world of track and field.
Track experts have been expecting this moment since Rio, when McLaughlin became the youngest U.S. track and field athlete to compete at the Games since 1972. (She said she’s suffered a post-Olympics letdown after those Games; she failed to make the final). She’s also the only person to even be named Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year twice.
She recently switched coaches, to Bobby Kersee, the long-time coach of Allyson Felix, making McLaughlin and Felix training partners. “Sydney McLaughlin possesses a quiet confidence that demands your attention,” Felix wrote about McLaughlin for this year’s issue of TIME 100 Next.
She’s now poised to succeed Felix as the “face” of American track and field. “It’s really important and it’s really cool to be a part of this new wave,” McLaughlin said before the Tokyo opening ceremonies. “It’s kind of pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.”
Read more about the Tokyo Olympics:
- Naomi Osaka: ‘It’s O.K. to Not Be O.K.’
- Motherhood Could Have Cost Olympian Allyson Felix. She Wouldn’t Let It
- Simone Biles’ Olympic Team Final Withdrawal Could Help Athletes Put Their Mental Health First
- ‘Unapologetic and Unafraid.’ Sue Bird Stares Down Olympic Glory in Tokyo and Equity Off the Court
- Meet 6 Heroes Who Helped Battle COVID-19 Before Competing in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics
- Here’s How Many Medals Every Country Has Won at the Tokyo Summer Olympics So Far
- 48 Athletes to Watch at the Tokyo Olympics
- The Olympic Refugee Team Was Created to Offer Hope. Some Athletes Are Running Away From It
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