Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone swapped the hurdles with the 400m run

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will make a dramatic change at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this month, swapping her crown event, the 400m hurdles, for the 400m.

The 26-year-old American athlete has already achieved it all in the hurdles, with six world records, two Olympic titles and a world title. But this season she has given it up in favor of the 400m, where she is not the main favorite. But Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone said she has the patience to pursue greatness in the new event.

“The performances I’ve had over the last few years have created an appetite for records every time I step on the track. But honestly, I just want to be the best athlete I can be. If that means it takes time to get faster in the 400m, if it takes years, I want to work towards that”, she told the media in a video call this week.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone‘s journey to the 400m began in 2023, but a knee injury forced her to withdraw from the World Championships that year. She returned with a new focus and understanding of the nuances of the race.

“I definitely knew I wanted to get back into it. I liked the idea of ​​getting into different events, challenging myself, seeing if I could be the best all-around athlete I could be before I hung up my spikes”, said Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. “It was definitely a huge challenge and I learned a lot this season – about the 400m, about myself, about how different it is from the hurdles. But I love every second of it”, added she.

Asked what the difference was between the two disciplines, the American laughed and said it hurt more.

“The 400m hurdles is such a fast-paced race that even though you feel like you’re sprinting really fast, you’re still in stride. Whereas the 400m is really just a sprint”, commented she.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s 400m times are world-class. Her 48.90 sec at the USA Championships was two-tenths of a second off the American record held by Sanya Richards-Ross and the third-fastest time in the world this year behind Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain (48.67 sec) and Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic (48.81 sec).

The world record, however, is something else entirely. Germany’s Marita Koch set a stunning 47.6 sec in 1985, a record shrouded in doubt because the former East Germany was notorious for systematically doping its athletes.

“Yes, I think someone could beat that. But we have to work on getting it under 48 seconds before we can even talk about 47.6 sec”, said the American athlete

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone returns to the same stadium in Tokyo where she won her first Olympic gold in 2021.

“It was a very special moment. At a time when COVID was confining so many people to their homes, the Olympics could still take place. It was an inspiration for us to get back out there, to get back to working hard to achieve our dreams”, said Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.