At just 25 years old, the American superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is dismantling competition in a way that has redefined the 400m hurdles forever.
In his recent analysis on Coach Rob Track and Field podcast, Coach Rob explains how McLaughlin-Levrone exists in a stratosphere of her own.
Why no one can touch Sydney’s times
Coach Rob’s assessment was blunt and unapologetic:
“It’s Sydney—that’s who we’re talking about. All due respect to the rest of the field, but come on… Let’s say 51 anything, 51-high or something? Nobody else can run that in the field. No, no. Nobody else in the field has ever run that.”
McLaughlin-Levrone’s world record of 50.37 seconds in the 400m hurdles is nearly two full seconds faster than any other active athlete. To put that into perspective, in elite track and field, a two-second gap is an eternity.
Since her Olympic gold medal performance at Tokyo 2020, where she first broke the world record, McLaughlin-Levrone has been undefeated in major 400m hurdles finals.
How much faster can she go?
Coach Rob’s predictions for McLaughlin-Levrone’s future performances are staggering.
“She’s probably going to go 51-high [in the hurdles] and then 49-low in the open 400. That’s what I’m thinking for Sydney.”
“I don’t think she’s going to be able to break 49 this race. I think she’s probably going to lay off—running by herself. She’ll be running by herself, and I think she’ll lay it out more in the 400 hurdles as opposed to the [open] 400,”
McLaughlin-Levrone has already clocked 48.75 seconds in the open 400m and 12.71 seconds in the 100m hurdles, proving she could dominate multiple events if she chose to. At the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, she won her heat by over three seconds—a margin so absurd that it left spectators questioning whether they were watching the same race as the rest of the field.
McLaughlin-Levrone’s latest showcase came at the inaugural Grand Slam Track event in 2024, where she obliterated her own world record. Running 50.37 seconds, she took another 0.31 seconds off her previous mark, a staggering improvement at the elite level.
The Grand Slam Track was designed to elevate the sport’s biggest stars, and McLaughlin-Levrone seized the moment, proving once again that she is the most dominant force in track and field today.
