Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone vs Femke Bol: How did both athletes perform facing each other in all the races from Tokyo to the Paris Olympics?
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol are two of the fastest athletes to run the women's 400m hurdles. The American athlete and the Dutch athlete have both locked horns multiple times throughout their respective careers.
The anticipation among fans and enthusiasts always fuels up whenever the two athletes go head to head and push the limit of the sport. Femke Bol began the Olympic year with great momentum as she won the gold medal at the World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024 and set the indoor world record in the 400m with a time of 49.17 s.
On the other hand, Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone began her 2024 season after skipping the indoor races entirely as she was recovering from an injury that made her withdraw from the 2023 World Athletics Championships. She made her first appearance at the Mt. SAC Relays 2024.
Here are the races the two athletes have gone head to head
Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone Vs Femke Bol head-to-head
Tokyo Olympics
Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol went head to head in a major event for the first time at the Tokyo Olympics. The American athlete put forward a dominating performance to win the gold medal and broke the world record with a time of 51.46 seconds. Femke Bol won the bronze medal with a time of 52.03s finishing behind Dalilah Muhammad who took home the silver with a time of 51.58s.
World Athletics Championships 2022
The two athletes went head to head once again at the World Athletics Championships 2022 held in Eugene. Mclaughlin-Levrone stunned in front of a home crowd to win the title with a time of 50.68s to break the world record once again. Femke Bol won the silver medal with a time of 52.27s.
World Athletics Championships 2023
Mclaughlin-Levrone and Bol were set to compete against each other once again a year at the World Athletics Championships 2023 held in Budapest however, the American athlete withdrew from the event due to a knee injury. Femke Bol won the women's 400m hurdles with a time of 51.70s.
Paris Olympics 2024
The women's 400m hurdles at the Paris Olympics drew great anticipation among fans as both Mclaughlin-Levrone and Bol had made substantial improvements in their performances where the American athlete's personal best stood at 50.65s and Bol's best stood at 50.95s.
Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone put forward a dominating performance to win the gold medal with a formidable lead. Moreover, the American athlete clocked 50.37s to break the world record once again and successfully defend her title.
Bol finished third with a time of 52.15. The Dutch athlete expressed that she was not happy with her performance however, she was grateful to win to participate and compete at such a big stage.
The two athletes competed against each other in the women's 4x400m relay final in which Team USA won the gold medal with a time of 3:15.27 and Femke Bol-led team Netherlands took home the silver as the Dutch athlete anchored the team to the second position in the final moments of the race.
McLaughlin-Levrone ran the second leg of the race and clocked 47.71 seconds while Bol ran the final leg and took 48.62 seconds to cross the finish line.