Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has notched the fastest time in one women's track event in four decades, managing to finish the 400-meter race in a sub-48-second time. McLaughlin-Levrone blazed through a rainy women's 400m world championship final in Tokyo on Thursday in 47.78 seconds—the swiftest time recorded in the event since 1985, per Reuters. The 26-year-old American, already known for her dominance in the 400m hurdles (she holds two Olympic golds), claimed her first individual world championship gold in the flat 400.
She managed to fend off Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, who finished just two-tenths of a second behind her. Paulino's 47.98 made her the third-fastest woman ever at the distance. Bahrain's Salwa Eid Naser, a former world champion, took bronze with a time of 48.19. The AP reports the record remains in the hands of East Germany's Marita Koch, who ran the 400m in 47.60 on Oct. 6, 1985. No runner had come within a half-second of Koch's mark until this race.
For her part, McLaughlin-Levrone has crushed the 400 hurdles world record six times, most recently at last year's Olympics with a time of 50.37. It marked McLaughlin-Levrone's 19th consecutive victory in a single-lap race since June 2023.
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In the men's 400 meters, Botswana's Busang Collen Kebinatshipi delivered another standout performance for the African nation, per the Japan Times. The 21-year-old clinched gold in 43.53 seconds. He outpaced Trinidad and Tobago's Jereem Richards, who set a national record with his 43.72-second run, while Kebinatshipi's countryman Bayapo Ndori secured bronze with a time of 44.20.
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