Sydney McLaughlin crushed the 400m hurdles world record to win the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials and supplant now former record holder Dalilah Muhammad as the gold-medal favorite.
On the final night of Trials, world champion Noah Lyles won the 200m, while 17-year-old Erriyon Knighton was third. Knighton, who turned pro in January, is set to become the youngest U.S. male track and field Olympian since miler Jim Ryun in 1964.
Athing Mu, 19, ran the second-fastest women’s 800m in U.S. history. Rio gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz qualified in the 1500m, but 2016 Olympic long jump champ Jeff Henderson failed to qualify.
McLaughlin clocked 51.90 seconds, bettering Rio gold medalist Muhammad’s previous record of 52.16 from the 2019 World Championships. McLaughlin finished second at those worlds in 52.23, making her the second-fastest woman in history at the time.
“I will cherish this for the rest of my life,” said McLaughlin, who was eliminated in the semifinals in Rio (with a cold) at age 17 as the youngest American to compete in track and field at an Olympics since 1972.
McLaughlin covered her mouth and crouched after crossing the finish line and seeing the time inside Hayward Field. Muhammad, who ran in an adjacent lane, was the first athlete to shake her hand and hug her.
“There’s no animosity or hard feelings,” McLaughlin said. “We have to have each other to have these world records.”
