The 400m hurdles have always been one of the most fiercely contested events in American track and field, but this year’s US Trials offer a new dimension, one marked by opportunity, absence, and finality. With Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opting to run the flat 400m instead of her signature hurdles event, the door has swung open. For Dalilah Muhammad, a former Olympic champion and seasoned competitor nearing the conclusion of her career, this could be the moment that shapes her farewell.

McLaughlin-Levrone’s decision stems from both scheduling complications and long-term strategy. The USATF schedule placed the 400m hurdles semifinal mere minutes after the 400m final, creating an impossible demand even for someone of her caliber. That collision prompted her to commit fully to the flat event, keeping her hurdles ambitions alive via the Diamond League route. While that gives her breathing room, it also transforms the women’s hurdles field at Trials into unfamiliar territory, one without the reigning Olympic and World champion, but not without its own intrigue.

That intrigue begins with Dalilah Muhammad. According to Justin Gatlin, the former world champion still holds a competitive edge. “I think that it’s going to be a mindset, especially for Dalilah, knowing that this is her last season and it’s going to be her last nationals and now the door has been busted wide open with the uh absence of Sydney,” Gatlin said in the latest episode of the Tidal League podcast.

He added, “She has the opportunity to go out there and seal the deal, win her last nationals and kind of ride up to the sunset when it comes to Team USA.” Gatlin, who knows the demands of longevity at the top, sees this as a convergence of timing and preparation, a final challenge that suits Muhammad’s experience and poise.

Rodney Green echoed that view, placing Dalilah atop his prediction list and emphasizing not just her credentials but the composure with which she runs. “She already defeated Anna Cockrell,” Green said, adding that Muhammad’s current form and seasonal bests suggest a woman who intends to leave the sport on her own terms. “She’s going to leave it all on the track… that beautiful lady, man, running with so much grace and style.” Green rounded out his top three with Anna Cockrell and Jones, crediting them with the talent and consistency to challenge, but making clear that Muhammad still carries the presence of a frontrunner.

Gatlin agreed on the trio, but reserved particular admiration for Muhammad’s quiet power. “She doesn’t speak very often and very much… but when you see her and she walks into a room, you notice her. It’s like almost like a quiet storm.” In an event missing its biggest name, it is that kind of quiet force that may rise above the rest. What might have seemed like a changing of the guard has become, instead, a final chapter, one written on Dalilah Muhammad’s terms.

Dalilah Muhammad sets sights on reshaping the global track circuit

At a time when many athletes choose to fade quietly from the international stage, Dalilah Muhammad has fixed her gaze outward, toward the broader scaffolding of the sport itself. Her decision to extend her career into 2025 was not a nostalgic grasp for former glories, but a carefully considered move toward redefining what it means to contribute to track and field after competition. With the same precision that shaped her Olympic triumphs, Muhammad is now thinking globally, positioning herself as a facilitator of opportunity for athletes yet to be seen or heard.

“A sportsperson’s next step is to go into coaching. But for me, I want to have a global presence and bringing more competitions to our sport,” she explained, underscoring an ambition that stretches beyond personal accolades. Her objective is not merely administrative—it is structural, grounded in a desire to increase access. “This will bring more opportunities for athletes, and will open the door for more women athletes. I want to bring races to places where athletics has not been to before.”

Such a plan suggests not just a post-retirement role but a redirection of influence. Muhammad, who once trained in the shadows of others to sharpen her own form, now looks to elevate others by changing the contours of the sport’s global footprint. Her focus is not on nostalgia or legacy-building for its own sake, but on constructing new avenues through which the sport might travel. In this, she intends to remain very much a presence, not as a spectator, but as an architect.