Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone obliterated World Record to win 400m hurdles final

NEW WORLD RECORD: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of Team United States celebrates after winning gold in the women's 400m hurdles final. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

It was a race that promised so much, and it delivered even more. However, this was not the head-to-head many had anticipated between Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol. Instead the Olympic women’s 400m hurdles final turned into a one-woman exhibition of sporting greatness, McLaughlin-Levrone producing one of the greatest performances in Olympic history by obliterating her own world record, clocking a mind-boggling 50.37 to win her second straight title.

Bol had tried her best to stay with the US superstar, but that task was akin to chasing a TGV across France as the New Jersey native left the rest of her rivals – and every other female 400m hurdler in history – trailing in a different district.

Bol ran herself to a virtual standstill in her futile bid to stay with her, the Dutch star overtaken late in the race by USA’s Anna Cockrell, who came through for silver in a big PB of 51.87, Bol only third in 52.15 and left in tears.

Her anguish was understandable. The Dutch came out in droves to cheer her on as she went up against her arch rival, a woman she has ultimately not got close to in any of their three meetings to date, even if she had signalled her intent with a sub-51 second clocking just weeks before the Games.

But when it mattered most, McLaughlin-Levrone was again utterly irrepressible, blasting through the opening half lap and then maintaining a pace no one else could even contemplate, putting clear daylight between her and everyone else up the home straight – and now staking her claim as one of the greatest athletes in history, male or female.

Elsewhere on the night, there was an upset in the men’s 200m as 100m champion Noah Lyles could only finish third in 19.70, Letsile Tebogo floating to victory in an African record of 19.46 – his late mother’s memory foremost in his memory – with USA’s Kenny Bednarek second in 19.62. It was a first ever Olympic gold for Botswana. Lyles collapsed to the ground post race and was taken from the arena in a wheelchair with USA Track and Field later reporting that Lyles has tested positive for covid.

Pakistan struck gold in the men’s javelin via Arshad Nadeem, who launched an Olympic record of 92.97m. USA’s Grant Holloway finally got the one thing his career was missing, Olympic gold, in the men’s 110m hurdles, clocking 12.99, while effervescent US long jumper Tara Davis, with a leap of 7.10m, got the title for which her massive talent had long seemed destined: Olympic gold.

DAY ONE DONE: Ireland’s Kate O’Connor after finishing fourth in the 200m of the Heptathlon. Picture: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

Elsewhere, Dundalk’s Kate O’Connor had a strong first day in the heptathlon, rounded off with a 24.77-second season’s best in the 200m, leaving her with 3596 points and in 19th place. Her day started in poor fashion, O’Connor clocking just 14.08 in the 100m hurdles but she bounced back brilliantly with a season’s best in the high jump of 1.77m. She threw 13.79m in the shot put before her impressive showing in the 200m from a difficult inner lane.

“It started off a little bit rough, the hurdles wasn’t really what I was planning on doing but I’m really proud of how I picked myself up,” she said. “My high jump has been a bit all over the place this year because of injury but I feel like I got rolling after that. The shot could have been a bit better but it was pretty solid, it wasn’t terrible. And I’m really proud of that 200m. It was only five or six weeks ago that I tore my hamstring. To run 0.03 off my personal best from lane two, I can’t complain with that.” O’Connor said her first Olympic experience was “amazing” and she tried her best to soak it all up.

“My goal was to not have any regrets from all the events and I walked away from that hurdles and was like, ‘damn it,’ I didn’t take in the crowd and stuff. But from the high jump on I made sure to enjoy the experience and just be me, lap up the whole experience because it’s another four years before it’ll come around again, so I wanted to enjoy it as much as I could.” She is currently projected to finish 16th and rack up just over 6,200 points, which would be just shy of her Irish record of 6297.