Team USA’s Sydney McLaughlin, on Wednesday, defeated her fellow teammate Dalilah Muhammad to win gold in the women’s 400m hurdles final at the Tokyo Olympics. The 21-year-old also bested her own world record with a time of 51.46 seconds. 

Muhammad was second in 51.58. seconds and Femke Bol of the Netherlands won bronze in 52.03. 

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McLaughlin arrived at Tokyo as the world record holder in the event. She set the previous world record time of 51.90 seconds against Muhammad at the US Olympic Trials in June. The New Jersey athlete had also posted a better time than Muhammad in the semifinal round in the 2020 Olympics. Muhammad, on the other hand, came in as the defending Olympic champion.

As much as the race was anticipated as one of the toughest intra-group contests this Olympics, McLaughlin made it a one-sided show. This gold medal fr the 21-year-old comes five years after she made her Olympic debut in Rio, at the age of 16. The junior in high school did’nt make the final then. 

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Ahead of the big race, McLaughlin had said, “The biggest lesson the sport has ever taught me. At this moment in time, is really to just focus on your lane. Everybody’s journey in the sport looks different. Nothing is ever guaranteed from year to year. So, taking the opportunities that you have in front of you and not looking around at what everyone else is doing. It’s so much easier said than done. But truly for me, focusing on my lane and my 10 hurdles, whatever that looks like in whatever capacity, truly does make the difference instead of running somebody else’s race.”

During the pandemic, McLaughlin switched coaches and started working with Bobby Kersee, the husband and former coach of six-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee. 

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“What has changed the most for her over the past five years? I think, as a person, kind of just understanding more of the woman that I want to become. Being on the team at 16, there was so much that I was just uncertain about, not just in the sports world but being a teenage girl. So the past five years have just been crucial to understanding who I want to be and what I want to represent, “McLaughlin said, as per a Times report.

Team USA will see Michael Shuey start his javelin throw campaign, Valerie Constien in the women’s 3000m steeple chase final, swimmer Ashley Twichell and boxer Richard Torrez in action on Wednesday.