The Olympic Games-Paris 2024 - Source: Getty — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in action in the women's 400m hurdles at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris | Getty

How Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone changed 400m hurdles forever with 6 world records: Everything about World Athletics considering altering hurdles' height

Modified Sep 20, 2024 16:49 GMT

With six world records to her name, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has redefined the 400m hurdles event, showcasing her inarguable talent and fierce competitiveness. Her six world records were registered in a span of four years between the 2021 Olympic Trials and the 2024 Paris Games.

She became the first female athlete to clock sub-52 and sub-51 in the 400m hurdles. Before beginning her elite career, she recorded an U18 world record with 54.15 seconds and an U20 world record with 53.60 seconds.

At the 2021 Olympic Trials, McLaughlin-Levrone posted a stunning 51.90 seconds to earn a spot at the Tokyo Games. At the Tokyo Summer Games, she improved her previous world record, posting 51.46 seconds to claim her first Olympic medal.

The following year, she displayed her impressive skills to shatter the world record twice in the span of a month at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. At the 2022 USATF Championships, the 25-year-old clocked 51.41 seconds, followed by 50.68 seconds at the World Championships.

She was forced to stay away from the track, including from the 2023 World Championships after suffering a knee injury. In 2024, the American athlete grabbed an Olympic berth for the third time during the Trials with a new world record, posting a time of 50.65 seconds.

The discussion around altering the hurdles' height by World Athletics began after the American star set yet another world record in Paris, at 50.37s, exactly 1.5 seconds ahead of fellow teammate Anna Cockrell.

World Athletics president Lord Sebastian Coe said women's hurdles event could be made harder by increasing the height, which now measures 76.2cm (30 inches). According to Athletics Weekly, Coe suggested reconsidering the height, noting the athletes do not seem to lose form or struggle while competing. The hurdles' height remains the same for now, with no information available as of now.

McLaughlin-Levrone consecutively set the world record six times. Before her, only Dalilah Muhammad broke the record more than once, and that was just twice in 2019 with 52.20 and 52.16 seconds. Her fiercest competitor Femke Bol recorded her personal best of 50.95 seconds in July 2024, significantly trailing behind the American's world record time. McLaughlin-Levrone has never lost a race to Bol.

Since the introduction of the women's 400m hurdles in 1974, the hurdles height has been standardized at 76.2cm.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone secures victory in invitational 200m and 400m at Brussels Diamond League

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the Wanda Diamond League 2024 final event in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo via Getty Images)

After competing throughout the year at the 2024 Diamond League Meetings, athletes earned their spot to vie in the final in Brussels on September, 13 and 14, 2024.

However, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was unable to participate in the finals, including as a wild card entry in the final, as she did not compete in a single meeting throughout the year, which is the key requirement. However, she was later invited to compete in the invitational 200m and 400m events.

The four-time Olympic gold medalist topped the field in both events. She ran in 22.40 seconds to dominate the 200m event, beating out Gina Mariam Bass and Delphine Nkansa, who ran 23.01 and 23.03 seconds, respectively.

Further, in the 400m, McLaughlin-Levrone clinched first place with 49.11s, while Stacey Ann Williams, in 50.53s, and Andrea Miklos, in 51.16s, took the silver and bronze, respectively.