Sydney McLaughlin Breaks 400m Hurdles World Record at U.S. Olympic Trials

The previous world record was 52.16 set by reigning Olympic champion and world record holder Dalilah Muhammad at the 2019 world championships.

EUGENE — 21-year-old Sydney McLaughlin has asserted herself as the woman to beat in the women’s 400 meter hurdles at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics as she won the U.S. Olympic Trials in world record fashion in 51.90 seconds.

Sydney McLaughlin wins women's 400m hurdles heat in 54.07 for the top time during the US Olympic Team Trials at Hayward Field :: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

The previous world record was 52.16 set by reigning Olympic champion and world record holder Dalilah Muhammad at the 2019 world championships in Doha, where McLaughlin finished second.

McLaughlin and Muhammad have been the United States’ best 400m hurdlers in the last Olympic cycle and become of the best duos to watch go head-to-head in the sport.

Damn. @GoSydGo just smashed the world record in the 400m hurdles by .26 seconds.

Previous world record was 52.16 by Dalilah Muhammad.

The first woman under 52 seconds. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DQyhMTs052

— Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) June 28, 2021

At the 2019 U.S. Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Muhammad ran a then-world record of 52.80 to edge out McLaughlin by .28 seconds. In their rematch at the world championships just a few months later, Muhammad lowered her own record by .04 seconds and edged out McLaughlin by .48 seconds.

Muhammad broke a world record that had previously stood for 16 years but it was widely expected that she could trade the record off with McLaughlin for years to come.

McLaughlin finally got it on Sunday night and is headed back to her second Olympic Games.