Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wins gold in 400m hurdles, sets new World Record

She did it again. After cruising through the opening rounds and semifinals, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone asserted her dominance in the 400-meter hurdles finals, winning gold and setting a new world record of 50.37 seconds. It’s the fifth time she’s broken her own world record since first setting it in June 2021. USA’s Anna Cockrell finished second (51.87) and Netherlands’ Femke Bol third (52.15).

There’s NO catching Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone!

She adds ANOTHER 400m hurdles gold medal and WORLD RECORD to her collection. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/RJ7reApKfV

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024

This is Sydney’s second Olympic gold medal in the event and third overall (4x400m relay, 2020). She won her first 400mH gold in Tokyo three years ago, finishing in 51.46 seconds, the previous Olympic record. She now owns the three fastest times in Women’s 400mH history and hasn’t lost in the event since the 2019 World Championships.

1	Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone	50.37
2	Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone	50.65
3	Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone	50.68
4	Femke Bol	50.95
5	Femke Bol	51.30
6	Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone	51.41
7	Femke Bol	51.45
8	Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone	51.46
9	Dalilah Muhammad	51.58
10	Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone	51.61
11	Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone	51.68

Sydney ran her lone season of college track at Kentucky in 2017-18, winning the SEC and NCAA titles in the 400m hurdles. She still holds the collegiate record of 52.75 seconds. Two years prior, she made her Olympics debut in Rio, becoming the youngest athlete to make the US Olympic Track & Field team since Carl Lewis and Denean Howard qualified for the boycotted Moscow Olympics in 1980.

At just 25 years old (her birthday was yesterday), Sydney could run it back in 2028 in Los Angeles. Either way, there’s no doubt she is the queen of the 400m hurdles.

Women’s 400mH Results

Rank	NOC	Name	Result
1	USA	Sydney McLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE	50.37
2	USA	Anna COCKRELL	51.87
3	NED	Femke BOL	52.15
4	USA	Jasmine JONES	52.29
5	JAM	Rushell CLAYTON	52.68
6	JAM	Shiann SALMON	53.29
7	CAN	Savannah SUTHERLAND	53.88
8	FRA	Louise MARAVAL	54.53

Cats in Paris Schedule

Sydney’s gold brings the University of Kentucky’s medal count to four in the Paris Olympics. Lee Keifer won two golds in fencing and Rhyne Howard the bronze in 3×3 women’s basketball. Incoming Kentucky transfer Tapiwanashe Makarawu finished sixth in the 200 meters earlier this afternoon and former Cat Daniel Roberts is about to run in the finals of the 110m hurdles. Tomorrow, four more Kentucky track alums are in action, three in the 100m hurdles.

Here is the complete schedule:

Thursday, August 8

• DIVING — 4:00 AM: Women’s 3m Springboard Semifinal (Julia Vincent, South Africa — ADVANCED); E!; Peacock
• WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL — 10:00 AM: United States (Avery Skinner — ADVANCED) vs. Brazil; Semifinals; NBC, Peacock
• TRACK & FIELD — 2:30 PM: Men’s 200m Final (Tapiwanashe Makarawu, Zimbabwe – Sixth, 20.10); NBC, Peacock
• MEN’S 5×5 BASKETBALL — 3:00 PM: USA (Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis) vs. Serbia vs. Serbia; Semifinals; NBC, Peacock
• TRACK & FIELD — 3:25 PM: Women’s 400mH Final (Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, USA — GOLD); NBC, Peacock
• TRACK & FIELD — 3:45 PM: Men’s 110mH Final (Daniel Roberts, USA); NBC, Peacock

Friday, August 9

• TRACK & FIELD — 4:40 AM: Women’s 4x400m Relay Round 1 (Alexis Holmes, USA); USA, Peacock
• TRACK & FIELD — 6:05 AM: Women’s 100mH Semifinal (Masai Russell, USA; Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Puerto Rico; Devynne Charlton, Bahamas); USA, Peacock
• DIVING — 9:00 AM: Women’s 3m Springboard Final (Julia Vincent, South Africa); NBC, Peacock
• TRACK & FIELD — 2:00 PM: Women’s 400m Final (Alexis Holmes, USA); NBC, Peacock

Saturday, August 10

• TRACK & FIELD — 1:45 PM: Women’s 100mH Final (Masai Russell, USA; Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Puerto Rico; Devynne Charlton, Bahamas); USA, Peacock
• TRACK & FIELD — 3:22 PM: Women’s 4x400m Relay Final (Alexis Holmes, USA); NBC, Peacock
• MEN’S 5×5 BASKETBALL — Bronze and Gold Medal Games

Sunday, August 11

• WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL — 7:00 AM: United States (Avery Skinner) vs. Turkey/Italy; Gold Medal Match; NBC, Peacock