World records broken at US Olympic Track and Field Trials 2021
US Track and Field trials 2021 witnessed some world record-breaking performances as the 10-day event came to an end in Eugene, Oregon. A total of 120 athletes secured their positions for the Tokyo Olympics 2021.
A total of 13 events for the men's and women's categories were contested at the trials. Out of which, the women's 400m hurdles, men's 200m and shot put events saw their long-lasting world records broken.
Additionally, these records were broken on the hottest day in the US.
World Records broken at US Track & Field trials 2021
The list of athletes who broke the world record at the US Track & Field trials 2021 are as follows:
Sydney McLaughlin - 400m hurdle
Sydney McLaughlin competed at the 400m hurdle event alongside reigning Olympic medalist Dalilah Muhammad. By clocking 51.90 seconds in the trials finals, she broke Dalilah's two-year old world record. She became the first woman to enter the 52-second mark.
She broke Muhammad's world record of 52.16 seconds by 0.26 seconds. Meanwhile, McLaughlin outperformed Dalilah by 0.52 seconds as the latter clocked 52.42 in the trials final.
Sydney McLaughlin, who is just 21-year-old, will be touring her 2nd Olympic event since her debut was at the Rio Games in 2016. However, the then-17-year-old lost in the semi-finals as she clocked 56.22 seconds.
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Erriyon Knighton - Men's 200m
Dubbed "The Wonder Kid," America's rising star Erriyon Knighton came as a surprise to many at the trials. The 17-year-old who got in the news when he broke Bolt's under-18 world record in Florida is back at it in Oregon.
Erriyon, who was competing in the men's 200m dash came 3rd in the event as he touched his personal best of 19.84 seconds. The spot guaranteed his debut at the quadrennial games in Tokyo. Alongside that he also shattered Usain Bolt's 17-year-old world record.
Knighton broke Bolt's record of 19.93 seconds which the latter registered when he was under-20 in 2004. This is the second time Erriyon has replaced Bolt in the books. He also became the youngest track and field athlete to compete at the Olympics since Jim Ryan in 1964.
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Ryan Crouser- Shot put
Rio 2016 gold medalist in shot put, Ryan Crouser added another feather to his cap as he broke a 31-year-old long-lasting world record in shot put.
Reacting to the feat, Ryan Crouser said:
"This one definitely meant a lot more, it’s one that I’ve been after for a long, long time."
The 28-year-old achieved a distance of 23.37m in his 4th attempt. The effort was enough to break 1996 Atlanta Olympics' gold medalist Randy Barnes's record of 23.12m.
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