The Brooks PR Invitational on June 8 did its job as a showcase of upcoming track hopefuls. But among all, one 13-year-old’s blistering 400m performance thrust her into elite company. Well beyond her age group. The seventh-grader clocked a stunning 51.67 seconds to win the race, a time that places her within striking distance of senior-level Olympic contenders this season. Her performance is not just remarkable for her age. It demands attention on the global stage, particularly in a year where young athletes are increasingly rewriting the sport’s standards.

The top women in the world over 400 meters this Olympic season, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Marileidy Paulino, and Natalia Kaczmarek, have been hitting the low-49s to mid-50s. But Camryn Dailey’s 51.67 is faster than several national champions across Europe and Asia and sits just outside the top 25 senior women’s times worldwide in 2025.

The fact that it came from a middle schooler highlights a growing shift in track and field: the arrival of highly trained, high-performing teens who are ready to disrupt the senior ranks far earlier than expected. Dailey’s dominant season has been building toward this breakout. She won the Middle School States 400m with a time of 54.64 seconds, shaving off nearly three seconds in just weeks.

Her gold-medal finish at the 2025 New Balance Nationals Indoor saw her post 55.33 and set a new meet record. It was a precursor to what’s shaping up as a history-making outdoor season. Beyond the 400m, Dailey has excelled across multiple sprint events. She ran the 60m dash in 7.40 seconds earlier this year, also a meet record. And recorded a 200m personal best of 22.90 at the Ken Roberts-Panthers Elite Track and Field Challenge.

These aren’t just strong youth results. They’re competitive times on the global junior stage and inching closer to elite senior benchmarks. Dailey is part of a wave of young sprinters making immediate noise in a traditionally senior-dominated field. With names like Melanie Doggett, Cayla Hawkins, and Trinity Perine also clocking competitive middle school times, the pipeline of elite sprint talent appears stronger than ever.

If her trajectory continues, Dailey may not just threaten Olympic qualifying standards in the future. She could be redefining them. And that is quite evident when we take a look at the top timings in the 400m realm.

Camryn Dailey is just seconds off the world’s best in the 400m at just 13

At just 13, Camryn Dailey isn’t supposed to be in this conversation. But here she is, forcing her way into the global 400m landscape with a jaw-dropping 51.67 at the Brooks PR Invitational. That time doesn’t just win races at the middle school level. It forces comparisons with the world’s best in a season where even seasoned pros are grinding to get under 50 seconds. What Dailey has done isn’t just rare. It’s disruptive!

To understand the magnitude, look at the current world leaders. Salwa Eid Naser’s 48.67, Marileidy Paulino’s 49.12, Gabby Thomas clocked 49.14, and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone with 49.69. These are Olympic finalists. World champions. Icons. Dailey isn’t there yet. But she’s within two seconds of them, a margin often separating medalists from semi-finalists at the highest level. And she’s a seventh-grader.

Even more compelling is how close she is to some of this season’s top contenders outside the dominant names. Nickisha Pryce’s 50.04 and Alexis Holmes’ 50.12 were celebrated as major breakthroughs. Mercy Adongo Oketch stunned with a 50.14. Dailey’s 51.67 sits just outside that range. Barely a second and a half behind. Just stepping into her teen days, she cracked a threshold that most athletes don’t touch until their late teens or early 20s.

The significance? While others chase Paris or prep for Worlds, Dailey is only beginning. She’s not supposed to be here yet, and still, she is just over a second away from athletes in their prime. The sport’s standards are shifting, and Dailey might be the clearest sign that the future isn’t coming. It’s already arrived.