Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Sets Fifth Consecutive World Record at US Olympic Track Trials Ahead Of Paris

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone made history by breaking her fifth consecutive 400-meter hurdles world record with a time of 50.65 seconds at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

CNN reported that the 24-year-old secured first place and is set to compete in the Olympic Games in Paris later this month. She led the race during the 250-meter mark and gained a significant lead crossing into the finish line. The champion hurdler and sprinter was even surprised by the time she clocked at the end of the final.

“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting that time,” McLaughlin-Levrone told the media following the event, adding, “Knowing that there is more there and there is more to fix just is a confidence booster heading into Paris.”

This was McLaughlin-Levrone’s fourth 400-meter hurdles race of the season. In previous competitions, she consistently improved her time, reminiscent of her record-setting performance during the 2022 championship, also at Hayward Field. According to Bleacher Report , she secured the gold medal in the same event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and also contributed to the American team’s gold in the 4×400-meter relay.

Alongside McLaughlin-Levrone, Anna Cockrell and Jasmine Jones will travel to Paris after finishing second and third place in Sunday’s trials. All three women will represent the United States in the 400-meter hurdles.

This will be the third time McLaughlin-Levrone will participate in the Olympic Games. During her time on the world’s largest stage, she broke history back in 2016 as the youngest athlete to make the U.S. Olympic track team since 1980 at 17 years old, per Bleacher Report.

McLaughlin-Levrone aims to achieve a time that dips below 50 seconds during the Olympic Games, and with Sunday’s victory, she is more confident than ever in her quest to accomplish this goal.

“It’s really exciting, thinking about how to improve upon history,” she said in a statement obtained by USA Today . “That’s always something I’m looking at.”