Just a day after her 25th birthday, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone celebrated her third Olympic gold medal and another world record. The American star set a new record time of 50.37 seconds to successfully defend her title in the women’s 400m hurdles, a race she has dominated throughout the decade. This achievement marks the sixth occasion she has broken her own world record.
“I’m grateful to God for this opportunity, grateful to be celebrating my 25th birthday like this,” said McLaughlin-Levrone. “Just a super opportunity, you can’t even imagine.”
In a remarkable performance for the U.S., Anna Cockrell won the silver medal with a personal best of 51.87 seconds, the fourth-fastest time in the event’s history. Cockrell’s silver is particularly sweet, as she was disqualified from the final at the Tokyo Olympics but has now secured a podium finish in Paris.
The bronze medal went to Femke Bol from the Netherlands, who finished with a time of 52.15 seconds, marking her second bronze in this event.
With her impressive accomplishments, McLaughlin-Levrone has been the world record holder for three consecutive years and has held the Olympic title for just as long. Achieving all this at just 25 years old — or 25 and one day — is truly remarkable.