Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Breaks American 400m Record in World Championships Video

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone set a new women's 400-meter American record during a semifinal at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Tuesday.

McLaughlin-Levrone finished with a time of 48.29 seconds, breaking the previous American record of 48.70 set by Sanya Richards-Ross in 2006:

According to Nick Zaccardi of NBC Sports, 48.29 seconds was the fastest time in the world in the women's 400m this year, and it is the 11th-fastest time ever.

McLaughlin-Levrone's comments after the race suggested that breaking the American record was a happy accident, as she said on the NBC telecast, "Wasn't expecting that. Clearly shows me that my fitness is there."

The 26-year-old McLaughlin-Levrone is among the greatest hurdlers of all time, winning gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, as well as the 2022 worlds.

She has also enjoyed enormous success in the 4x400-meter relay, winning gold in that event at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, and the 2019 and 2022 World Championships.

Despite her success in the relay, McLaughlin-Levrone always focused on the hurdles individually, until now.

Per Zaccardi, McLaughlin-Levrone decided to shift her focus to the flat 400m this year because she wanted to become the first woman in track and field history to win gold at the World Championships in both the 400m flat and 400m hurdles.

McLaughlin-Levrone has undoubtedly put herself in a strong position to accomplish that goal, although it is far from a slam dunk.

The Dominican Republic's Marileidy Paulino also qualified for Thursday's final, and she is the reigning Olympic champion and world champion in the 400m.

With a time of 48.17 seconds, Paulino set the Olympic record in 2024, and if she runs a time similar to that on Thursday, it will likely be her and not McLaughlin-Levrone leaving with a gold medal in tow.