Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone set a world record in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2021 Olympics en route to winning gold.
She repeated that feat at the 2024 Olympics to become the first woman to ever win gold twice in the event.
The world record is the latest in a long line of records McLaughlin-Levrone has set in her signature event. Still just 25, she may have another one in her as she attempts to break 50 seconds in the race.
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Even if she can’t get there, she should have more opportunities to break her own record, which no other runner has touched since 2021.
Here’s what to know about McLaughlin-Levrone’s world records and her Olympic medal history.
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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone world records
McLaughlin-Levrone has set the world record in the 400-meter hurdles a whopping six times in her career. All have come over a three-year span during which she has shown unprecedented dominance in the event.
Here’s what to know about McLaughlin-Levrone’s six record-setting performances.
51.90
- Date: June 27, 2021
- Event: U.S. Olympic trials
McLaughlin-Levrone’s first record-breaking run came less than two years after Dalilah Muhammad clocked a world-best 52.16-second run in the event.
McLaughlin-Levrone shaved 0.26 seconds off that time at the 2021 U.S. Olympic trials. That set the stage for her to dominate at the 2021 Olympics in an event that was quickly turning into her signature.
51.46
- Date: Aug. 4, 2021
- Event: Tokyo Olympics
Just 38 days after breaking the 400-meter hurdles world record for the first time, McLaughlin-Levrone did it again. She dominated at the 2021 Olympics, knocking 0.44 seconds off her best time en route to a gold medal.
Impressively, McLaughlin-Levrone achieved this despite facing tough competition from Muhammad, who logged a personal-best 51.58 in the race. That was just 0.12 seconds slower than McLaughlin-Levrone’s but 0.32 seconds better than her previous world record.
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51.41
- Date: June 25, 2022
- Event: U.S. Championships
McLaughlin-Levrone didn’t settle for smashing the world record during her Olympic run. Less than a year later, she participated in the U.S. Championships and cut 0.05 seconds off her best time from Tokyo, breaking her own world record for a second time.
This run marked the third time in two years that McLaughlin-Levrone had broken the world record. That matched the same number of times that the record was broken over a nearly 24-year period from September 1995 to July 2019.
50.68
- Date: July 22, 2022
- Event: World Athletics Championships
Less than a month after her record-breaking run in the U.S. Championships, McLaughlin-Levrone returned to Eugene, Ore. to compete in the World Athletics Championships. This time, she cut 0.73 seconds off her time, an incredible feat for less than 30 days between events.
The record made McLaughlin a world champion once again and established herself as one of the best hurdlers in history at the young age of 23.
50.65
- Date: June 30, 2024
- Event: U.S. Olympic trials
McLaughlin-Levrone once again broke her own world record as she battled for a spot on the 2024 USA Olympic team. She faced decent competition from Anna Cockrell, but McLaughlin-Levrone put together an excellent run and cut 0.04 seconds off her world record time.
That got McLaughlin-Levrone into her second Olympics and she became favored to do what no woman had done before: earn two gold medals in the 400-meter hurdles.
50.37
- Date: Aug. 8, 2024
- Event: Paris Olympics
McLaughlin achieved her golden dreams on Aug. 8 in an epic fashion. She outraced Cockrell and Femke Bol of the Netherlands to win her signature event in dominant fashion.
The result? McLaughlin-Levrone cut another 0.28 seconds off her record. It marked her sixth world record and continued her steady march toward a sub-50-second mark in the event.
There’s NO catching Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone!
She adds ANOTHER 400m hurdles gold medal and WORLD RECORD to her collection. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/RJ7reApKfV
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024
McLaughlin-Levrone is still just 25 and has shown no signs of slowing down. She seems likely to continue participating in this event, and with her 1.5 seconds better than Cockrell, it may take some time before anyone is able to truly challenge the two-time Olympic gold medalist’s top mark.
And even if she does slow down, McLaughlin-Levrone has still shaved a massive 1.79 seconds off the world record during her dominant three-year run. That alone will establish her in USA track lore as an all-time great.
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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone medal count
McLaughlin-Levrone now has three Olympic medals to her name. All are gold, with two coming in the 400-meter hurdles and one coming in the 4×400-meter relay.
Below is a run-down of her Olympic medals.
| Year | Event | Medal |
| 2021 | 400-meter hurdles | Gold |
| 2021 | 4×400-meter relay | Gold |
| 2024 | 400-meter hurdles | Gold |
McLaughlin-Levrone may run in the relays for Team USA at the 2024 Olympics, so she may be able to add to her coffers once more in Paris. Her future beyond that isn’t clear, but as long as she remains a force in this event, she will have a chance to earn her way into the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
