Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is set to light up the USATF Championships, this time as a 400m flat runner. Known for shattering the 400m hurdles world record an astonishing six times, McLaughlin-Levrone brings that same dominance and star power to the flat quarter-mile. She had nearly shattered the American 400 m record in 2023, clocking a blistering 48.74s at the U.S. Championships in Eugene, just 0.04s shy of Sanya Richards‑Ross’s 48.70 national mark, making her the second-fastest American ever in the event. But what if the format cuts her run short?

Coming into the 2025 season, she did win the 400m title at the 2025 Prefontaine Classic in a season-best 49.43 seconds, but her reaction afterward clearly suggested she was anything but satisfied. She flatly stated, “Disappointment. I just know that I’m more fit than that,” explaining that, despite cruising to victory, she believed she could have executed better and gone faster. The sprinting legend is clearly behind the record. Well, the bad news is she will have one less opportunity to prove it…

In one of its recent reports, USATF has announced that, “The 200m for US Nationals men has been cut down from 3 rounds to 2 rounds. The 400m has been cut down 2 to rounds. The women 100m hurdles been cut down to 2 rounds.” This is happening because the entries are cut. According to a detailed preview of the 2025 U.S. Outdoor Championships, entry fields in events like the men’s 200m, men’s 400m, and women’s 100m hurdles are much smaller than in previous years, so much so that USTAF is consolidating heats and eliminating semifinals to streamline the meet.

In 2019 and earlier editions, these sprint events consistently fielded up to 32 athletes, triggering a full three-round bracket. In contrast, for 2025, entry lists in those key events were small enough that semis were deemed unnecessary. So, not just Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone but other athletes as well who would want to run as much as they can before the World Championships have been robbed of an opportunity. This is another bad news for the USATF Championship if we take the streaming blunder into account as well.

USATF National Championships streaming blunder adds layer of trouble

The frustrations don’t stop on the track; viewers are in for a rough time, too. For context, NBC and Peacock will televise live coverage of the final two days (Saturday and Sunday) of the 2025 U.S. Outdoor Championships from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern, with Peacock extending its streaming coverage through 7:00 p.m. ET, likely to include additional events such as the steeplechase finals. All sessions on Thursday and Friday, as well as events outside the weekend broadcast windows, will be available only via USATF.tv, not on traditional television. Subscriptions to USATF.TV costs $12.99 per month for non-members and $9.99 per month for USATF members.

Fans are certainly not happy with the fact that they will have to buy two subscriptions for just one championship. What’s worse is that the 100m will not be televised. Sha’Carri Richardson‘s form is one of the biggest topics of the time, and the women’s 100m not being televised speaks volumes about how bad it can be. In 2025, for the first time since 2018 (a non-World/Olympic year), the men’s and women’s 100m finals at the U.S. Championships will not be broadcast live on national television. Traditionally, marquee moments and fan favorites, those 100m finals are now exclusive to USATF.TV, leaving the network and Peacock viewers without live coverage.

What are your thoughts on this? How hard will it be now for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone? Do let us know in the comments down below.