Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone staked her claim to be the fastest woman in the world over 400m at the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels on Friday (13 September).
The double Olympic 400m hurdles champion and world record holder was not eligible for the Diamond League Final having failed to compete in sufficient Diamond League races during the season. The American instead ran in a special invitational women’s 400m and is scheduled to run again in the 200m on Saturday.
In chilly conditions, McLaughlin-Levrone clocked 49.11 to record a comfortable victory with Jamaica’s Stacey Ann Williams second in 50.53. Andrea Miklos of Romania was third in 51.16.
Afterwards, she said, “The crowd was amazing. The atmosphere was electric. Just happy to be here and get the experience. I would have loved faster. I do think the cold was definitely a factor today, I could feel it. Just happy to be healthy and hopefully run the 200 tomorrow.”
On running the flat 400m, she admitted, “I’m still learning it. It’s very different from the hurdles. Every race is just trying to figure it out and get better. I’ll have to go back and watch my race to figure out what I did, right and wrong.”
McLaughlin-Levrone confessed she was disappointed that she could not take part in the final, saying, “I was under the impression there was a possibility I could run. Unfortunately that didn’t get to happen and I guess the rules are the rules so I understand completely.
“I’m just happy to be here. I do think it would have been an exciting race but I’ll just have to wait and hopefully have that opportunity in the future.”
In the final which took place minutes later, Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino eased clear of her rivals but her winning time of 49.45 was more than three-tenths outside McLaughlin-Levrone’s mark. Alexis Holmes of the United States took second ahead of Paris 2024 silver medallist Salwa Eid Naser who was then disqualified for running out of her lane with Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke promoted to third.
