McLaughlin breaks 400m hurdles world record

Sydney McLaughlin punched her ticket to the athletics World Championships with a world record 51.41sec victory in the 400m hurdles at the US trials on Saturday.

McLaughlin shaved five-hundredths of a second off the world record of 51.46 she set in winning Tokyo Olympics gold last August 4, delivering a dominant performance at Eugene’s Hayward Field that saw runner-up Britton Wilson cross the line more than a second back in 53.08sec.

Shamier Little was third in 53.92. The trio will represent the United States on the same Hayward Field track in July -- when reigning World Champion Dalilah Muhammad also aims to defend her title.

With a bye as champion Muhammad -- who beat McLaughlin in Doha in 2019 but took silver behind her in Tokyo -- received a waiver to skip the trials to recover from a hamstring injury. – AFP