Syndey McLaughlin-Levrone smashes her own world record in Paris Olympics domination

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone smashed her own world record with a dominant win in the women's 400m hurdles at the Paris Olympics. The American superstar crossed the line in just 50.37 seconds, breaking the world record for the sixth time.

The highly-anticipated race pitted McLaughlin-Levrone against Dutch sensation Femke Bol. But Bol was no match for the American, who raced clear on the top turn and was miles clear of the chasing pack.

Her previous world record - set at the U.S. Olympic trials in June - saw her set a time of 50.65 seconds. Yet she shaved huge time off that record with an incredible new benchmark to secure a second straight Olympic gold medal.

Her U.S. teammate Anna Cockrell took the silver medal from Bol. She also clocked a personal best time, crossing the line in 51.87 seconds, over a second behind McLaughlin-Levrone, such is her dominance.

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McLaughlin-Levrone has continually lowered the world record time in the event, which was 52.16 seconds until 2021, when she broke Dalilah Muhammad's record with a 51.90 second time. She's now taken over a second and a half off that time to take the standards in the event to a new level.

American track legend Michael Johnson addressed the level McLaughling-Levrone can reach as he discussed her and the record moments before the race. Speaking on BBC, he said: "I spoke with Bobby Kersee just a couple of weeks ago and he said she doesn't think she has actually taken this record to where it can go when she ran the 50.65 at the US Olympic trials.

"They have just continued to push the boundaries and practice because they believe that Sydney can actually run under 50 seconds for 400m hurdles. That's what she was focused on."

While she did not quite break the 50-second milestone, it was another remarkable performance as she underlined her status as the undisputed queen of the 400m hurdles event.

There's now speculation she could go for the 400m world record, which has stood at 47.60 seconds since 1985. Johnson said: "I think that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has her eye on that 400m open, 400m flat world record. She talked about it a lot last year and went out and ran it last year, trained for it and then decided to shut it down for the season."