McLaughlin-Levrone threatening long-time world 400m record after breaking US time

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TOKYO (AP) — One record down, and maybe one more to go for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

McLaughlin-Levrone finished her 400-meter semifinal at the world championships Tuesday in 48.29 seconds, shattering a 19-year-old American mark held by Sanya Richards-Ross by .41 seconds.

It was the fastest time of 2025, the seventh fastest time ever, and it makes the thought of breaking the 40-year-old record of 47.60 seem totally possible in the final Thursday.

“Honored, for sure,” McLaughlin-Levrone said about breaking the U.S. record she's been targeting since she moved over from the hurdles. “I definitely wasn't expecting that time. It just shows the fitness is there. I'm excited for the finals and grateful to have taken down a record by an amazing woman.”

Richards-Ross, the best American 400 runner of her generation, set the record of 48.70 in 2006 and won the 400 at the London Olympics six years later.

Now, all eyes are on the mark set by an East German, Marita Koch, in 1985. It is one of the few remaining records from the Eastern Bloc era. No woman has broken 48 seconds since Koch's record, and even McLaughlin-Levrone said that should be the first goal before thinking about the mark.

But McLaughlin-Levrone has a knack for breaking records. She's done it six times in her “main” event, the 400 hurdles, which she took a break from this year to see what she could do in the 400 flat. Her record in the hurdles stands at 50.37.

McLaughlin said that while she was surprised to see the 48.29 pop up on a sultry night in the same stadium where she won the hurdles — with a world-record time — four years ago in the Tokyo Olympics, “The last 30 meters were a little reserved.”

“But it wasn't surprising because I know the work that has been put in. It's really just about executing, and I'm grateful that it showed me it's there.”

McLaughlin-Levrone, who trains with renowned coach Bobby Kersee, said she's been working with a former UCLA runner Willington Wright to get her ready for the rigors of the world championships.

“He's a quarter-miler who’s really strong, helping me with my fitness and simulating what those rounds are going to feel like,” she said. “He did a great job at that.”

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