SAINT-DENIS, France — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone insists and insists that her biggest competition in any race are those 10 hurdles that circle the track.
These days, those are no problem. The real thing she’s running against is the clock.
McLaughlin-Levrone once again broke her own world record, powering over the 400-meter hurdles in 50.37 seconds on Thursday night to defend her Olympic title.
The 25-year-old American has now lowered the world record six times. She was in the lead around the corner and breezed down the home stretch to beat teammate Anna Cockrell by 1.50 seconds.
“Obviously, there are people next to you and they’re going to push you but it doesn’t matter if you don’t focus on the barriers in front of you,” McLaughlin-Levrone explaiend. “That was my focus, trying to be as efficient as I could over my 10 hurdles and trying to lower that time every time.”
McLaughlin-Levrone had set the old record, 50.65 seconds, on June 30 at the U.S. Olympic trials.
This was billed as one of the must-see races at the Stade de France, given the rivalry between McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol of the Netherlands. Cockrell crashed the party, with Bol finishing third. She walked down the track, shaking her head.
McLaughlin-Levrone will make competitors do that.
“I screwed it up,” Bol said. “I’m not sure where I made the mistake. I just got so much lactic acid with 300 meters to go. I’m not sure why, I really have no explanation. This is just a bad race.”
Once she crossed the finish line, McLaughlin-Levrone looked up at the scoreboard and gave a quick smile. She makes breaking records look almost like a stroll in the park.
And while she knows there are things she can clean up, it was inching closer to a perfect race — and to breaking into 49-second territory.
“It’s just building up that capacity in your legs to handle going that fast,” said McLaughlin-Levrone, who married Andre Levrone Jr., a former NFL football player, in 2022.
McLaughlin-Levrone moved to 3-0 in races against Bol. She beat Bol, the standout from the Netherlands, at the Tokyo Games in 2021 (Bol finished third) and again a year later at world championships in Oregon. McLaughlin-Levrone was hurt last season and didn’t race when the world championships were in Budapest. It opened the the door for Bol to win her first world crown.
After this race, McLaughlin-Levrone gave Bol a consoling hug and some encouraging words.
“I was like, ‘You are amazing,’” she said. “She just started the hurdles not too long ago, so I think she’s doing great.”
Cockrell, too, who lowered her personal-best time by 0.77 seconds.
“I’ve always called myself a showtime girl,” Cockrell said. “When the lights come on, I come out to play.”
Coached by Bobby Kersee, McLaughlin-Levrone has been steadily building toward this moment for two years. Mostly out of the spotlight, too. She’s been racing in sprints at 200 and 400 meters and also in the short hurdles — 100 meters, and 60 meters indoors — to gain experience, speed and technique.
It all paid off Thursday with another record-breaking performance in front of a packed house.
“I knew this was possible,” said McLaughlin-Levrone, who celebrated her birthday Wednesday. “I knew it was probably going to take a world record to win this race.”
Afterward, she paraded around the track wearing a tiara her sister-in-law brought for her to wear.
“I just was hoping it would be a race worthy of holding (the tiara) up,” McLaughlin-Levrone cracked.
She burst on the scene as a teenager, the runner with the unique ability to juggle while riding a unicycle. She competed in the 2016 Olympics at age 17.
The sprinter from New Jersey who went to the University of Kentucky and now lives in Los Angeles also has a gold medal from Tokyo as part of the women’s 4×400 relay.
She’s raising her hand to be on the 4×400 relay team in Paris.
“I’m always here,” McLaughlin-Levrone said, “if they need me.”