Follow our Olympic Games coverage in the run-up to the Paris Games.
Victory was well assured by the time Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone turned the corner for the final straight away at Icahn Stadium in New York. She had blown through the 400-meter race at the New York Grand Prix on Sunday, ending all hope for the other seven runners in the field. All that was left was to make Sanya Richards-Ross sweat.
McLaughlin-Levrone stated before the race that she was aiming for the American record. And as she slid down the last 300 feet, resisting the Manhattan wind, she almost caught it. She clocked a time of 48.75 seconds, just shy of Richards-Ross’ national record of 48.70 from 2006.
“So close,” McLaughlin-Levrone told reporters afterward. “But you know what, it’s all good. There’s so much time to do that. It’s always about refining and learning from the race.”
It was the fastest time of anyone this season in the 400 – the first time she has competed in the discipline in 11 months. This isn’t even her best event. It was the second time in three weekends that McLaughlin-Levrone competed in an event that was not her specialty, walking away this year with the reigning best time in the world.
WORLD LEADERSHIP FOR SYDNEY!
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone clocks 48.75 to win the women’s 400 meters. 💨
📺 @nbc & @peacock | #ContinentalTourGold pic.twitter.com/QA0Gx8fv7d
— NBC Olympic and Paralympic Games (@NBCOlympics) June 9, 2024
Sunday was further proof of how McLaughlin-Levrone could do what she wants in the sprint universe. So much so that the natural tendency is to want her to do everything.
On Sunday she blew away the field in the 400m race – her first time competing in the discipline in 11 months. Three weekends ago, at the Los Angeles Grand Prix, she ran the 200-meter sprint in 22.07 seconds – three-tenths of a second better than her time two weeks earlier and the second-best time in the world this year. Before May this year, according to World Athleticsshe had not run the 200 since 2018.
She is currently scheduled to compete in one event at the U.S. Olympic Trials later this month: the 400-meter hurdles, for which she holds the world record. She is the reigning Olympic champion of the event and her showdown with Femke Bol of the Netherlands promises to be one of the most compelling sprint battles in Paris.
But watching McLaughlin-Levrone in one race is like driving a luxury rental car around just one block. It’s like having just one scoop of your favorite ice cream.
She will probably also be present at a relay in Paris. But its rarity only generates demand. She is perhaps the most dominant and also the most mysterious. While she is certainly one of the most talented, she is also one of the most sensible with it.
She has the makings of an all-time great with the potential to deliver deifying feats. But one of the fastest women in the world is in a patient pursuit of historic glory.
Her performance at the New York Grand Prix could prompt pressure to add the 400 meters to the 400 hurdles at the trials and go for the double. The 400-meter races are spread over the first three days of the Olympic Trials – held June 21-30 at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field – with the obstacles starting on Day 7. At the Paris Olympics, the heats, semi-finals and finals for each event will take place on alternating days from 4 to 9 August.
She said if she did something crazy in New York, it might push her to add the 400 meters at the trials.
“I don’t think I would consider that crazy,” she told reporters, flashing a million-watt smile.
A double is not without risk. An injury in the 400 meters would jeopardize her best event, the 400 meter hurdles, the final part of the trials. She missed the world championships in August due to an injury. Moreover, she has never run the flat 400 meters under the pressure of international commitment. Coming to the Olympics for the first time would be a huge challenge.
But McLaughlin-Levrone is so compelling that she leaves us wanting more from the living legend. One of the faces of New Balance, she is a model athlete, known as much for her character and affability as her speed.
Sha’Carri Richardson could be the biggest name in track and field, and she has the vibrant personality to match her explosiveness. Noah Lyles has a similar magnetism. He dominated the 200 meter race (19.77 seconds) at the NYC Grand Prix.
🗣️ “I’m just trying to get my rhythm in the 100s. That’s really what it’s all about. I will be world champion in the 100 meters in 2023 and I have no intention of giving up that title. I plan to become an Olympic champion.
I know I have the 200 locked up. All I need is two or three 200s… pic.twitter.com/x8PXcWik1h
— CITIUS MAG (@CitiusMag) June 9, 2024
But McLaughlin-Levrone is a superstar in her own right. Her wholesome friendliness has its own appeal. Its limited presence increases demand. And her smooth walking style is breathtaking.
She has two gold medals from Tokyo, one in the 400 meter hurdles and one in the 4×400 meter relay. A repeat performance would earn her four gold medals just days after her 25th birthday.
Carl Lewis holds the American record with nine gold medals in track and field. Allyson Felix won eleven medals during her illustrious career, seven of which were gold, the most for any track and field athlete. When McLaughlin-Levrone is done, she could be the most decorated Olympian in U.S. track and field history.
That’s why, while track fans would love to see more of her, her choreography of this long piece is interesting. She competed in five events in 2024 and ran in five disciplines. It’s all just preparation for the 400m hurdles, with her working on the different elements to peak in time to defend her crown in the lead-up to the trials. But in doing so, she only expanded the range of her possibilities.
It is not a crazy idea for her to go for the 400 meter double in Paris and then turn around and go for the 200 meter/100 meter double in Los Angeles in 2028. She could go for the 100m hurdles or even move up to the 800m if she wanted to. She’s so good.
McLaughlin-Levrone is running her own race. Pun intended. In a sport where accolades translate into earnings, in a country where track stardom has an expiration date, she seems to have no interest in microwaving her greatness. She follows a focused, meticulous path and her talent darkens the horizon. And the scarcity of her presence means that these flashes of brilliance are to be enjoyed.
(Photo of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone crossing the finish line in New York on Sunday: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)
