Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Almost Breaks A World Record Thought To Be Unbreakable

Iconic Olympian Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone reached a new milestone during her participation in the 400-meter race in Tokyo on Thursday. The 26-year-old athlete recorded a time of 47.78 seconds, making her the first woman to ever get so close to the record set in 1985 by the USSR’s Marita Koch. As Yahoo Sports! notes, that record was thought to be unbreakable.

This is Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s 19th straight victory in a one-lap race

Thursday’s victory adds to McLaughlin-Levrone’s long list of wins. It was her 19th straight victory in a one-lap race (including both hurdles and flat) since June 2023.

“I knew it was going to be a battle down the homestretch, and it was just really about focusing on my lane and kind of trying to stay as relaxed as possible,” she said, according to ESPN. “Today was a really great race for track and field, and I’m grateful to put myself in position to bring an exciting event to our sport.”

McLaughlin-Levrone also recognized the performance achieved by the other athletes who competed alongside her. Marileidy Paulino came in second with a time of 47.98 seconds, while Salwa Eid Naser came in third at 48.19 seconds.

“You don’t run something like that without amazing women pushing you to it,” McLaughlin-Levrone said.

The 48-second mark was set in 1985 and has been tied to the USSR’s doping allegations

The time set by Koch in 1985 hasn’t been reached since then. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, details of the USSR’s doping system leaked. The government was revealed to have used anabolic steroids and hormones to boost athletes’ performance.

“Several thousand athletes were treated with androgens every year, including minors of each sex,” German molecular biologist Werner Franke and former Olympic discus thrower Brigitte Berendonk wrote in a 1997 article. “Special emphasis was placed on administering androgens to women and adolescent girls because this practice proved to be particularly effective for sports performance.”

Yet, Koch always denied doping allegations: “I never tested positive,” she told the BBC in 2014. “I never did anything which I should not have done at that time.”

For today’s athletes, the 48-second mark has become a goal to earn in the 400-meter race.

“At the end of the day, this wasn’t my title to hold onto, it was mine to gain,” McLaughlin-Levrone said, referring to her coach Bobby Kersee,” Bobby uses boxing terms all the time. He said, ‘You’ve got to go out there and take the belt. It’s not yours. You’ve got to go earn it.’”

“I felt that somebody was going to have to run 47-something to win this,” Kersee added. “She trained for it. She took on the challenge, took on the risk. She’s just an amazing athlete that I can have no complaints about.”