(Paris) American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone retained Olympic gold in the 400m hurdles by improving her own world record to 50.37 seconds at the Paris Games, with Dutchwoman Femke Bol only finishing third on Thursday evening at the Stade de France.
McLaughlin-Levrone finished ahead of compatriot Anna Cockrell, second in 51.87sec, and Bol, the 2023 world champion in her absence, third in 52.15sec.
Expected to be one of the top duels between the two fastest women in the history of the 400m hurdles, the only two to have gone under 51 seconds, the Olympic final of the 400m hurdles ultimately turned largely to the advantage of “SML”, victorious with a dizzying lead of one and a half seconds. Bol was even relegated to almost two seconds, in third place.
This is the sixth time that the American hurdler has improved the world record in the specialty since she took it in June 2021.
Bol (24 years old), crowned with the mixed 4x400m relay on the first day of the athletics events at the Stade de France on Friday and expected with the women’s 4x400m relay at the end of the week, had already won the bronze medal in the 400m hurdles at the Tokyo Games three years ago.