|
|
|
|
Printable Page
09/16 08:43 CDT McLaughlin-Levrone threatening long-time world 400m record
after breaking US time
McLaughlin-Levrone threatening long-time world 400m record after breaking US
time
By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer
TOKYO (AP) --- One record down, and maybe one more to go for Sydney
McLaughlin-Levrone.
McLaughlin-Levrone finished her 400-meter semifinal at the world championships
Tuesday in 48.29 seconds, shattering a 19-year-old American mark held by Sanya
Richards-Ross by .41 seconds.
It was the fastest time of 2025, the seventh fastest time ever, and it makes
the thought of breaking the 40-year-old record of 47.60 seem totally possible
in the final Thursday.
"Honored, for sure," McLaughlin-Levrone said about breaking the U.S. record
she's been targeting since she moved over from the hurdles. "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."
Richards-Ross, the best American 400 runner of her generation, set the record
of 48.70 in 2006 and won the 400 at the London Olympics six years later.
Now, all eyes are on the mark set by an East German, Maria Koch, in 1985. It is
one of the few remaining records from the Eastern Bloc era. No woman has broken
48 seconds since Koch's record, and even McLaughlin-Levrone said that should be
the first goal before thinking about the mark.
But McLaughlin-Levrone has a knack for breaking records. She's done it six
times in her "main" event, the 400 hurdles, which she took a break from this
year to see what she could do in the 400 flat. Her record in the hurdles stands
at 50.37.
McLaughlin said that while she was surprised to see the 48.29 pop up on a
sultry night in the same stadium where she won the hurdles four years ago in
the Tokyo Olympics, "The last 30 meters were a little reserved."
"But it wasn't surprising because I know the work that has been put in. It's
really just about executing, and I'm grateful that it showed me it's there."
She said she's been focusing on training more than racing as she hones her
technique under the watchful eye of coach Bobby Kersee.
___
AP Sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
|
| Copyright DTN. All rights reserved. Disclaimer. |
|
