Victory was well secured by the time Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone rounded the corner before the final straightaway at Icahn Stadium in New York. She’d blown through the stagger of the 400-meter race at the NYC Grand Prix on Sunday and ended any hope for the other seven runners in the field. All that remained was making Sanya Richards-Ross sweat.
McLaughlin-Levrone declared before the race she was aiming for the American record. And as she glided down the final 100 meters, resisting the Manhattan wind, she almost got it. She clocked in at 48.75 seconds, just shy of Richards-Ross’ national record of 48.70 set in 2006.
“So close,” McLaughlin-Levrone told reporters afterwards. “But you know what, it’s all good. There’s so much time to do that. It’s always just about refining it and learning the race.”
It was the fastest time by anyone this season in the 400 — on her first time competing in this 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 and walked away with the reigning best time in the world this year.
WORLD LEAD FOR SYDNEY!
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone clocks 48.75 to win the women’s 400m. 💨
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