EUGENE, Ore. — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone found a new target for her laser focus. That menacing stare, clenched jaw and iron will no longer have hurdles in her way. Just 400 meters of track and a new crop of runners to take down. That’s trouble for the Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino, the reigning Olympic champion in the women’s 400. And Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain, the Olympic silver medalist. And Sanya Richards-Ross, the American legend who holds the national record with a time of 48.70.
Just 400 meters of track and a new crop of runners to take down.
That’s trouble for the Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino, the reigning Olympic champion in the women’s 400. And Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain, the Olympic silver medalist.
And Sanya Richards-Ross, the American legend who holds the national record with a time of 48.70. It still stands, for now.
On Saturday at the U.S. Track and Field Championships, McLaughlin-Levrone cruised to the title at Hayward Field, the track at the University of Oregon where she’s authored many of her best moments. She clocked a time of 48.90 seconds in the women’s final on Saturday. She is technically unranked in the 400, but she will head to the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September as one of the favorites for gold.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone just .2s away from the 400m American record in another emphatic victory at Hayward Field. 👏
📺 NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/lteL7OACbW
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 2, 2025
“I think that’s a very daunting task in and of itself,” she said of running the 400 meters at worlds. “It’s a very competitive field. So I respect those competitors, for sure. And I want to make sure I can give my all to those races.”
Saturday wasn’t the typically flawless version of Syd. She’d erased the stagger some 200 meters into the race. She came through the final turn clearly in front. The only question was how low her time would be.
But McLaughlin-Levrone looked to struggle over the 50 or so meters. Her typically smooth stride looked a little labored. Perhaps the product of running this race on back-to-back days.
“It was good, it was good,” she said, “… being able to come back and just get it under my belt. Feel that. That’s what you need to feel. That’s where you go back to the drawing board to figure out what you need to work on.”
This was her fifth race of the year in the 400, including Friday’s preliminary heat. Her times have dropped with each final she’s run. She clocked in at 50.32 seconds at the Gland Slam Track (GST) event in Jamaica in April, then 49.69 at GST in Miami in May. Her time of 49.43 won first at the Prefontaine Classic in early July. Saturday, she got below 49 seconds for the first time since the USATF’s New York City Grand Prix last summer.
Her personal best (48.74) was set at Hayward Field in 2023. While she considers the 400 foreign to her, McLaughlin-Levrone has been an untouchable anchor of the women’s 4×400 relay team — which accounts for four of her seven gold medals combined between the Olympics and world championships.
McLaughlin-Levrone has won 19 straight individual races with a distance of 400 meters. Her last loss came in a Diamond League meet in Paris in June 2023. She finished second to Paulino.
Five races into her return to the 400 as a focus, McLaughlin-Levrone is clearly America’s best in the event.
“I think everyone talks about the American record, of course,” she said. “That’s gonna come when it’s supposed to come. I think this year, and this event, has taught me patience. I think I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned a lot about the 400. But ultimately, every day it’s stepping on the track, being the best I can be, figuring out a race that is very foreign to me, and taking on new challenges and being comfortable doing it.”
Of course, she could be comfortable in just about any event, or multiple events. She’s that talented and competitive. But she prefers her attention undivided. She conquered the 400-meter hurdles, winning gold in Paris, and was so dominant that the nearest competitor, Femke Bol of the Netherlands, proved no competition at all.
McLaughlin-Levrone said she won’t run the 400-meter hurdles at the world championships in Tokyo next month, or at all in the 2025 season.
That could change moving forward. She said her team will revisit her focus for 2026. It’s feasible, though not probable, she could win four gold medals in the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. She won gold in the 400-meter hurdles and the 4×400 relay in Paris. If she adds 400 meters, that’s a third crack at gold. McLaughlin also expressed an interest in the 4×400 mixed relay, which proved exciting in Paris. That would be four events in which she could make America the favorites.
For now, all her energy is on the 400.
“This is a challenge,” she said. “It’s not as comfortable for us, but I want to challenge myself. I felt like this year, I wanted to step out of the box and really push myself in a different way. So, obviously, it’s uncomfortable, but I wanted to commit to it and I’m committed to it. Just excited to see where I can push myself.”
This is Syd talking, so very likely to the top.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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