Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the U.S., the defending Olympic champion and world file holder within the 400m hurdles, crushed her personal world file of fifty.65 in Thursday’s remaining, blasting to a gold medal in 50.37 seconds. McLaughlin-Levrone’s high contender, the Netherland’s Femke Bol, who had received her final 40 races, couldn’t match McLaughlin-Levrone’s tempo, taking bronze in 52.15, behind American Anna Cockrell, who received silver in a private better of 51.87.
McLaughlin-Levrone and Bol had not raced head-to-head since 2022, and this was solely the third time they’ve competed towards one another.
McLaughlin-Levrone returned to the hurdles this yr after a knee damage pressured her to take a seat out the 2023 season. She didn’t let this maintain her again; on the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, she set a brand new world file of fifty.65, smashing her earlier file from 2022. Her time was so quick that it even obliterated the Olympic normal for the 400m occasion with out hurdles.
Bronze-medallist Bol claimed the world title in Budapest final yr. Final week in Switzerland, she ran below 51 seconds for the primary time, setting a European file of fifty.95. She adopted that up with a 51.30, her second-fastest time ever, on the London Diamond League.
On Saturday, the Netherlands took the Olympic crown within the 4×400 blended relay. Bol, who headed into the ultimate 200m of the race in fourth place, handed three different athletes, edging out Group USA’s Kaylyn Brown by one-hundredth of a second.
Savannah Sutherland of Borden, Sask., took seventh place in 53.88. She had snagged one among two non-automatic qualifying spots in her semi-final with a time of 53.80 seconds to get a spot in Thursday night’s remaining.
“It’s overwhelming–the environment on the market was insane, and it actually pushed some ladies to some actually quick instances. It was not like something I’ve ever skilled,” Sutherland advised media post-race.
Sutherland, who’s in her remaining yr on the College of Michigan, emphasised how grateful she was to have her identify in dialog with the most effective 400m hurdles athletes in historical past. “It’s a place I by no means actually imagined that I might be in, and I’m simply so grateful for that,” she stated. “Even in stiff competitors, the bounds and limits are all the time being examined by these wonderful athletes, so it’s a very thrilling time to be a 400m hurdler. It’s a historic second for all of us, and I believe that we hold pushing one another to be sooner and sooner.”
Sutherland will run within the heats of the 4x400m relay on Friday morning.
