Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone running 400m (flat) this weekend

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has already dominated the 400-meter hurdles, breaking the world record four times. Now, she’s adding a new event to her repertoire: the flat 400 meters. McLaughlin-Levrone, a University of Kentucky alum, will race in the 400m for the first time in two years this weekend at the WANDA Diamond League in Paris. She discussed the decision with Savannah Guthrie this morning on the TODAY Show, which was live from the Eiffel Tower as part of the show’s countdown to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“Very different,” McLaughlin-Levrone said of the two races. “Obviously, no ten obstacles in front of me but just trying something new, getting to work on my speed and just pushing the bounds of what’s possible for me. My coach loves me trying new things so stepping out of the box, trying a new event, and hopefully trying to earn my spot in that too.”

.@GoSydGo, the Olympic and world champion and world record holder in the 400m hurdles, tells @savannahguthrie why she's racing a new event this Friday and shares what she's most looking forward to at the 2024 Paris Olympics @olympics. #Paris2024 @nbcsports pic.twitter.com/UHvfNxPY9F

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 7, 2023

The flat 400m was actually McLaughlin-Levrone’s first race on the Diamond League Series circuit back in 2019. As a professional, she’s run it three times, but her personal best came as a freshman at Kentucky, when she ran it in 50.07 seconds. That time would have placed fourth at the world championships last July. Her 4x400m relay split from last year’s world’s was 47.91 seconds, the second-fastest in the last 34 years behind Allyson Felix. Also on that relay team? Fellow former Kentucky track star Abby Steiner, whose fastest time in the 400m is 50.59.

As the reigning world champion in the 400m hurdles, McLaughlin-Levrone has a bye to this year’s worlds in Budapest. That allows her to focus on the flat 400m at July’s USATF Outdoor Championships, from which the top three finishers move on to worlds. No one has ever won both the 400m hurdles and the flat 400m at a single worlds championships. I wouldn’t put it past Sydney to become the first.

You can watch McLaughlin-Levrone in the flat 400m Friday afternoon around 4 p.m. ET on the WANDA Diamond League YouTube page. Go Syd Go!