Sydney McLaughlin earns 400M PR at NYC Grand Prix

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is one of the greatest pure athletes to ever come through the University of Kentucky. She’s an Olympic gold medalist and world record holder, the first woman to ever break the 51-second barrier in the 400M hurdles. It’s an endless number of accolades, highlighted most recently by World Athletics Female of the Year honors in 2022.

How about another? The former did just that on Saturday, earning a new career personal best in a 400M flat victory at the NYC Grand Prix. It’s not even her best event — she’s the fastest women’s hurdler in the world — but she still broke the 50-second barrier with a 49.51-second PR to earn the victory.

It was a performance that has her thinking a future in the 400M flat is on the table.

“The flat is definitely harder in my opinion,” McLaughlin-Levrone said, via Reuters. “It’s hard to kind of figure out your cadence midrace. At least with hurdles I kind of know where I’m at. It’s a different kind of pain but the challenging good one. … Some things to clean up, but a PR is a PR.”

Will she run the 400M flat at the U.S. Championships?

“I will. Just going to work on that flat speed, then make a decision after that,” she said.

Check out the impressive performance below:

.@GoSydGo wins the women's 400m with a new 49.51 personal best!

📺 @nbc and @peacock pic.twitter.com/IOeSFC36EZ

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) June 24, 2023

McLaughlin-Levrone wasn’t the only former Wildcat making a statement at the NYC Grand Prix. Abby Steiner finished with a season-best 200M time of 22.19 seconds to earn the victory on Randall’s Island.

“I’m just finding that next gear, starting to gear up for USA (Nationals),” Steiner said. “That was really exciting for me. The whole time I was just thinking ‘arms, arms, arms.’ That’s a work in progress for me. The focus is on seeing that right hand and focusing on pumping the arms on the straightaway.

“Just execute one round at a time, walk in confident. Trusting your training cycle. We’re not gearing up for March or June, we’re gearing up for July.”

How about a third former Wildcat pulling off a win in New York City? American record holder Keni Harrison did just that in the women’s 100M hurdles.

“My coach has been telling me to put my blinders on, don’t worry about what’s going on around you,” Harrison said. “Focus on you, keep your chest up, run all the way through the line.”

Quite the weekend for the Kentucky Track & Field program.

The 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships are set to take place in Eugene, Oregon from July 6-9. From there, the World Championships will begin in Budapest on August 19.