Sydney McLaughlin Breaks 400M Hurdles World Record at 2022 USATF Championships

Ten months after her historic performance in the women's 400-meter hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics, Sydney McLaughlin managed to top herself Saturday at the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships.

The 22-year-old broke her own world record with a time of 51.41 in the 400-meter hurdles final.

McLaughlin set the world record with a time of 51.46 in this event at the Olympic Games last summer. She needed to hit that mark to win gold because her United States teammate Dalilah Muhammad finished second with a final time of 51.58.

Saturday's finish was much less dramatic as far as who was going to win. McLaughlin finished more than 1.5 seconds faster than silver-medalist Britton Wilson (53.08).

"I was just going to finish the race," McLaughlin told NBC's Lewis Johnson on the television broadcast. "We knew anything was possible. I'm really grateful for it."

This marks the third different time that McLaughlin has set a new world record in the women's 400-meter hurdles. Muhammad was the record holder with a time of 52.16, set at the 2019 World Championships.

McLaughlin first beat that mark with a time of 51.90 at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in June 2021. She became the first woman in history to break the 52-second mark in the 400-meter hurdles.

Saturday's win marks McLaughlin's first at the USATF Championships. She made her debut at this event in 2017, finishing sixth overall. The New Jersey native finished second, behind Muhammad, in 2019.