On a damp, restless night in Tokyo, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone produced the kind of performance that will be remembered for decades. The American ran 47.78 seconds to win the women’s 400m at the World Athletics Championships, the fastest time seen in the event since the mid-1980s and the second-quickest ever recorded.
The time shattered the championship record, set 42 years ago, and established a new North American best. It also marked a decisive moment in McLaughlin-Levrone’s career. Already the most dominant 400m hurdler in history, she has now proven she can rule the flat lap as well.
For much of the race it was anything but easy.
Marileidy Paulino, the Olympic champion from the Dominican Republic, ran stride for stride in the outside lane, forcing McLaughlin-Levrone to keep her form through the homestretch.
Paulino crossed in 47.98, making this the first 400m in history to feature two women under 48 seconds, while Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain took bronze in 48.19, a time that would have won almost any other major championship. Amber Anning of Britain was fifth in 49.36, a season’s best.
“I had faith in my training,” McLaughlin-Levrone said afterwards. “I knew I had it in me to run that fast. It was just a matter of time.” She also credited her coach, Bobby Kersee, who framed the race in boxing terms: “You’ve got to go out there and take the belt. It’s not yours, you’ve got to go earn it.”
Her run leaves her just 0.18 shy of Marita Koch’s world record of 47.60, set in 1985 during East Germany’s state-sponsored doping era. The mark has cast a long shadow over the sport, and McLaughlin-Levrone’s performance now feels like the most legitimate challenge it has faced.
“Very soon the women’s 400m world record will be broken,” predicted Eid Naser after witnessing the American’s run from close range.
McLaughlin-Levrone, who now owns four world titles across three events, has spoken about the possibility of doubling at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, taking on both the 400m and 400m hurdles if the schedule allows.
For now, the question is whether she continues her pursuit of Koch’s record on the flat, or returns to the hurdles to try and do what once seemed impossible, run under 50 seconds.
Either way, her Tokyo performance confirmed what many suspected, she has redrawn the limits of what the women’s 400m can be. “I think it shows that anything really is possible,” she said.
