Sydney McLaughlin smashes her own 400m hurdles world record to take Olympic gold

McLaughlin clocked 51.46 seconds having previously set a world best of 51.90secs to become the first woman to break the 51-second barrier in June

Sydney McLaughlin on the way to winning the gold medal. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

The USA’s Sydney McLaughlin broke her own world record to clinch the 400 metres hurdles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

The 21-year-old clocked 51.46 seconds having previously set a world best of 51.90secs to become the first woman to break the 51-second barrier in June.