U.S. Takes Olympic Gold And Silver In The Fastest Women's 400-Meter Hurdles Ever

https://www.npr.org/sections/tokyo-olympics-live-updates/2021/08/03/ [login to see] /womens-400-meter-hurdle-sydney-mclaughlin-dalilah-muhammad-olympics
The 400-meter hurdles has proved to be the marquee event on the track so far at the Tokyo Olympics.

U.S. runner Sydney McLaughlin surged from behind in the final stretch to break her own world record and take Olympic gold. Less than 24 hours earlier, the world record was smashed in the men's event.

The women's race pitted the world record holder against the defending gold medalist. Both are U.S. athletes. McLaughlin, 21, previously broke the world record in June at U.S. Olympic trials. It was the first time a woman has broken 52 seconds in the event. On Wednesday, she clocked 51.46.

"It's just the flood of emotions that you don't know how to process," McLaughlin said after the race.

Dalilah Muhammad, the 31-year-old former world record holder, won gold in this event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. She took silver in Tokyo with her fastest time ever, 51.58.

McLaughlin said racing Muhammad makes them both better. "I think that's really just iron sharpening iron. You know, you need somebody who's going to push you to be your best. And I think that's what we do so well."