The American confirmed her status as one of the most dominant athletes of the modern era with victory – and a world record – in the 400m hurdles final
She looked almost lonely in the final stretch, gliding effortlessly over the last couple of hurdles and through the tape nearly 10 metres clear of her closest rivals, a woman alone. The word that comes to mind watching Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the 400m hurdles is unbothered, existing in a place beyond the roars of 68,000 spectators in full throat and the eight rivals in her distant wake, an embodiment of poise and technique and steely concentration. She doesn’t even look like she’s running that fast.
The 100th medal for the United States at these Paris Olympics may have been simultaneously the most and least riveting of them all. The pride of New Brunswick, who is so plainly touched by the divine unlike any New Jersey native since Whitney Houston, delivered a breathtaking Olympic performance on Thursday night, reducing a final that was billed as a showdown with Femke Bol of the Netherlands into Secretariat at Belmont. Seeing McLaughlin-Levrone break free from the Dutch star over the last curve and fly through the tape a yawning 1.5sec ahead of US teammate Anna Cockrell only reaffirmed what everyone deep down already knew going in: her only competition is herself.
