Olympic gold medalist Dalilah Muhammad has revealed that the 2025 season will likely mark the end of her illustrious track and field career.
The 400m hurdles legend shared her thoughts on Thursday ahead of the Grand Slam Track debut in Kingston, Jamaica, signaling her intention to retire after one final campaign.
Dalilah Muhammad has been a dominant force in the 400m hurdles for over a decade. Though she had previously hinted that the 2024 Olympic Trials might be her last, she remained open to continuing into the 2028 Olympic cycle. However, she now feels certain that 2025 will be her farewell season.
“It’s going to be it for me this year. I think this will be it,” Muhammad told Flo Track.
“I haven’t really made an announcement or publicly known, but yeah, I’m thinking one and done.”
After finishing fifth in the 400m hurdles at the 2012 NCAA Championships for USC, she struggled at the Olympic Trials that same year, failing to advance beyond the first round.
Despite setbacks, she trained in Los Angeles with financial support from her parents, Nadirah, a specialist, and Askia, a professor.
Muhammad’s breakthrough came in 2013 when she raced her first Diamond League meet in clearance gear from Ross Dress for Less. In that year, she cut her personal best to 53.83, won the U.S. title, earned Worlds silver, and Nike sponsorship.
By the 2016 Rio Olympics, Dalilah Muhammad led the field with the year’s fastest time, 1.08 seconds ahead. She delivered, winning gold by a comfortable margin.
“The gold was so far from my mind; that definitely wasn’t the goal going into 2016. I just wanted to make it as a 400m hurdler.”
Her dominance continued in 2019 when she shattered the 16-year-old world record, running 52.20 at the U.S. Championships. Just two months later, she broke it again in 52.16 seconds to win the world title.
Though she took silver behind Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the Tokyo Olympics, both women ran under the previous world record.
As Muhammad made her heartfelt declaration, McLaughlin-Levrone, seated to her right, paid tribute paid tribute to her influence.
“Dalilah, you truly did just change the game for all of us. Seeing you break that world record after so long inspired all of us. It’s truly because of your amazing talent that we are where we’re at now,” said McLaughlin-Levrone.
The two American stars shared a touching tribute, celebrating a golden era when records fell and the sport reached new heights.
Muhammad plans to compete in the Grand Slam series and may extend her farewell season to include the World Championships.
