Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Chases 400M History With USA’s 8-Year Gold Drought on the Line

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone arrived at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo with a singular focus: to dominate the flat 400 meters. The 26-year-old sensation, already a two-time Olympic champion and world record holder in the 400m hurdles, made a bold decision to shift her focus to the one-lap sprint this season, forgoing her signature event in pursuit of new challenges. Her campaign began with a convincing victory at the US Championships in August, where she clocked 48.90 seconds to secure her spot on the team, though she notably tied up in the final stretch, suggesting there was room for improvement.

In Tokyo, McLaughlin-Levrone has emerged as the athlete to beat, particularly after her spectacular semifinal performance on September 16, where she shattered Sanya Richards-Ross’s 19-year-old American record of 48.70 seconds by running an astonishing 48.29, the fastest time in the world this year and the seventh-fastest in history. This performance not only cemented her status as a gold medal contender but also positioned her as a threat to the elusive world record of 47.60 seconds, set by Marita Koch of East Germany in 1985.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is looking forward to ending the 400m drought

The United States has experienced an unprecedented gold medal drought in the women’s 400 meters at the World Athletics Championships, with no American champion since Phyllis Francis claimed the title in 2017. This dry spell represents the longest stretch without a US winner in the event’s history at the championships, a surprising fact given the nation’s overall dominance in track and field, particularly in sprint events.

The US remains the most successful country in the 400m discipline at world championships, with American women having won four gold medals, but recent championships have seen victories go to athletes from the Dominican Republic, Bahrain, and the Bahamas. Reigning world champion Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic and Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser, the 2019 world champion, have established themselves as the recent forces in the event, with Paulino entering Tokyo as the defending champion and Eid Naser ranking third on the all-time list with a personal best of 48.14 seconds.

McLaughlin-Levrone’s record-breaking semifinal performance has dramatically shifted the odds in favor of an American victory, making her the athlete to beat in the final and offering the strongest chance for the US to end its 8-year gold medal drought in the event. Her time of 48.29 not only broke the American record but also demonstrated that she possesses the speed, endurance, and race execution to compete with—and potentially defeat—the world’s best.

Running from Lane 8 in her semifinal, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone built her race perfectly, reaching the 300-meter mark in 35.31 seconds before pulling away from the field in the final stretch, a significant improvement from her US Championship performance, where she faded at the finish. “Honored, for sure. I definitely wasn’t expecting that time. It just shows the fitness is there. I’m excited for the finals and grateful to have taken down a record by an amazing woman,” McLaughlin-Levrone said about breaking the national record.

The significance of her potential victory extends beyond personal achievement; it would restore American dominance in an event where the US has historically excelled but recently struggled.

A career of record-breaking achievements

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s potential to end America’s gold drought in the 400 meters is built upon a foundation of extraordinary achievements and a proven capacity for breaking records across multiple disciplines. At just 25 years old, she has already established herself as one of the most accomplished track and field athletes in history, particularly in the 400-meter hurdles, where she has set the world record an astonishing six times.

Her most recent world record came at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she defended her Olympic title with a time of 50.37 seconds, breaking her own previous record of 50.65 seconds and becoming the first track athlete to set a new world record in the same event four times. McLaughlin-Levrone’s versatility extends beyond the hurdles; she has demonstrated exceptional ability in multiple events, including a personal best of 22.07 seconds in the 200 meters set in 2024, which would have qualified her for the World Championships in that event, and a 100-meter hurdles time of 12.65 seconds that approaches world-class level in yet another discipline.

So, as she prepares for the 400-meter final in Tokyo, she carries not only the hopes of ending an American drought but also the potential to further cement her legacy as one of the most versatile and dominant track athletes of all time.