Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone nearly sets American record, wins 400 meters at U.S. Track and Field Championships

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, one of the top distance hurdlers in the world, pulled off a near historic feat on Saturday evening at the United States Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. A hard thing to do for a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

But McLaughlin-Levrone made her history on Saturday when she changed up events, participating in the 400 meter race. She’d won a gold in the 4 x 400 meter relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but racing competitively, alone in the 400 is relatively new.

Yet 48.74 seconds later, she had won the United States title and nearly set an American record in the 400 meter race.

And still to turn 24 this year, McLaughlin-Levrone seemingly has a few more years of dominance on the track domestically — and internationally — ahead of her.

The former Kentucky sprinter is not new to setting records. In her lone year at Kentucky from 2017-18, she set the NCAA record in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 52.75. That won her the SEC title in that event.

That record still stands today.

And as alluded to, McLaughlin-Levrone has represented and won medals for the U.S. at the Olympics and the world championships in 2019 and 2022. She won silver in the 400 meter hurdles at the 2019 worlds in Doha, Qatar, and then went on to win gold there in the 4 x 400 relay.

At the 2022 worlds in Eugene, she won gold in both, cementing herself as one of the top sprinters in the world after she had taken gold in both of those events at the 2020 summer Olympics.

McLaughlin is one of the top athletes in the world, and got recognized for her accomplishment in 2022

A two-time Olympic gold medalist, three-time gold medalist at the World Championships and the world record holder in the 400M hurdles, the 23-year-old out of New Brunswick, New Jersey is also the 2022 World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year, as KSR’s Jack Pilgrim reported.

Winner of the governing body’s Rising Stars Award just four years ago, McLaughlin-Levrone earned the prestigious honor from World Athletics on Monday. Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis was named Male Athlete of the Year.

Athlete of the Year Award winners @GoSydGo and@mondohoss600 react to their glorious night at the #AthleticsAwards ✨ pic.twitter.com/f22NE62Kvo

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) December 6, 2022

“It means absolutely everything, just super grateful for the opportunity,” McLaughlin-Levrone said after the win. “First and foremost, all glory to God and for my team, my coach, my trainers, my husband, my family, everybody, it’s just been an unreal season. I’m really grateful it culminated with this to kind of cap it all off.”