Sydney McLaughlin chases own world record tonight at World Championships

Sydney McLaughlin has already broken her own world record once; will she do it again tonight?

The famous former Kentucky Wildcat runs in the finals of the 400-meter hurdles tonight at the World Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. It’s the final event of the night, scheduled to begin at 10:50 p.m. ET. McLaughlin will be in lane five alongside rival and fellow Team USA teammate Dalilah Muhammad.

To say McLaughlin is the favorite is an understatement. As previously mentioned, she already owns the world record in the event, 51.41 seconds, and cruised to the finals this week. Her semifinal time of 52.17 was the eighth fastest in history and 0.67 seconds faster than the next top qualifier, Netherlands’ Femke Bol (52.84). It didn’t even look like she broke a sweat.

You can watch it live on USA Network or Peacock. Go, Syd, go!

Abby Steiner finishes fifth in 200m finals

Kentucky Track’s newest star performed well in her first Worlds. Last night, Abby Steiner finished fifth in the finals of the 200 meters with a time of 22.26 seconds. Although it wasn’t nearly as fast as her personal-best of 21.77 seconds, set at the USA Track & Field Championships last month, making it to the finals in her first Worlds is an impressive accomplishment. Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, the favorite, set a World Championships record, 21.46, to take home the gold.

There are still several former Cats to root for this week in Eugene. In addition to McLaughlin, Kentucky Track alumnae Keni Harrison and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and volunteer coach Devynne Charlton begin their quest for gold in the 100m hurdles tomorrow. Heats begin at 2:20 p.m. ET. The semifinals and finals take place Sunday night. Megan Moss and Dwight St. Hillaire, competing for The Bahamas and Trinidad & Tobago respectively, also return to the track tomorrow for the 4x400m heats.