Sydney McLaughlin, Abby Steiner win gold for Team USA in 4x400m

Make that two gold medals for a pair of former Kentucky Wildcats.

On Sunday night in Eugene, OR, Sydney McLaughlin and Abby Steiner helped lead Team USA to a gold medal in the 4×400-meter finals on what was the last day of the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Team USA posted an overall time of 3:17.19, led by McLaughlin’s blazing fast split of 47.91 seconds in the anchor leg while Steiner ran the second leg in 49.99 seconds.

It was the second gold medal at the World Athletics Championships for both of the on-time ‘Cats. McLaughlin claimed gold in the 400m hurdles, setting a new world record in the process, while Steiner was part of Team USA’s 4x100m victory.

Lots to celebrate 🥇🎉🇺🇸#WorldAthleticsChamps x #WCHOregon22 pic.twitter.com/csq6BOgU2E

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 25, 2022

The race concludes an incredible season for Steiner, who was a superstar for both Kentucky’s track and field program along with Team USA. A typical season consists of 15-20 races, but she finished with a total of 57 races since Dec. 2021. For McLaughlin, this was the second straight year the 22-year-old has won both the 400m hurdles and 4x400m on the world’s biggest stage.

Those two weren’t the only Kentucky alumna winning medals, though. Olympic champion and former Wildcat Jasmine Camacho-Quinn earned bronze in the 100m hurdles for Team Puerto Rico with a national record of 12.23 seconds. This was her first World Athletics Championships medal.

Beyond McLaughlin, Steiner, and Camacho-Quinn, there were plenty of other Kentucky representatives in Oregon this past week. Below is more on those former Wildcats, along with results from the weekend, courtesy of UK Athletics.

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Dwight St. Hillaire and the Trinidad & Tobago men’s 4x400m placed fifth in the final with a time of 3:00.03. St. Hillaire ran the first leg with a split of 45.89. It was the Olympian’s highest finish in a meet of world caliber.

Volunteer Coach Devynne Charlton, coached by UKTF Head Coach Lonnie Greene, finished seventh in the 100m hurdles final with a time of 12.53. She broke the Bahamian national record and set a personal best in semifinals, clocking 12.46. 

Olympic silver medalist Keni Harrison qualified for finals with a 12.27 season best in semifinals but was disqualified in the final due to a hurdle mishap. 

Days 8-9
McLaughlin and Abby Steiner win gold at World Athletics Championships in the 400-Meter hurdles and 4x100m relay, respectively, with McLaughlin’s win being a world record over the weekend.

McLaughlin smashed her own 400m hurdles world record by nearly a second for her first World Athletics gold, clocking 50.68 as the first and only woman to run under 51 seconds in the event.

McLaughlin now has four of the five fastest times in world history in the 400m hurdles.

Steiner earned her first World Athletics title as the second leg of the Team USA 4x100m, which won the race in 41.14 and upset the Jamaicans with the fifth fastest time in world history and fastest ever on American soil. Steiner ran a 9.86 split, the fastest among Team USA athletes and tied for third fastest in the race.

That 4x100m marked Steiner’s 56th race over seven months, including silver at the NCAA Championships in the 4x100m with UKTF.

Volunteer Coach Christian Coleman earned 4x100m silver with Team USA as the first leg. Collectively, the team ran 37.55.