Sydney McLaughlin sets new World Record in 400m Hurdles against Dalilah Muhammad
Iron sharpens iron.@GoSydGo and Dalilah Muhammad secure 🥇 and 🥈 in the 400m hurdles – both under world record time. #TokyoOlympics
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) August 4, 2021
In what was one of the most anticipated events of the Olympics; Sydney McLaughlin took on teammate and Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad in the 400m hurdlesand wound up beating her own world record to win gold.
Reigning world champion Muhammad and McLaughlin have been head-to-head the entire season. Muhammad held the world record for the 400m hurdles with 51.58 seconds since 2019, until McLaughlin dominated that record with one of her own in 51.90 seconds.
In this year’s games, the two Americans finished 1-2 in 400m hurdles, with McLaughlin shattering her previous world record in a new time of 51.46 seconds.
When asked about her relationship with Muhammad, McLaughlin says, “I just say iron sharpens iron. It’s two people pushing each other to be their best.”
The New Jersey native made her Olympic debut at 16-years-old in Rio as the youngest Olympian in the sport in 44 years. While Muhammad won the gold for 400m hurdles that year, McLaughlin was unable to even qualify for the event finals.
5 years later, she’s the best to ever do it.