Printable Page
09/18 08:50 CDT McLaughlin-Levrone cracks 48 seconds in historically fast 400
at the worlds
McLaughlin-Levrone cracks 48 seconds in historically fast 400 at the worlds
By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer
TOKYO (AP) --- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone became the first woman in nearly 40
years to crack 48 seconds in the 400 meters Thursday, achieving 47.78 in an
historically fast one-lap race at the world championships.
McLaughlin-Levrone had company. Second-place finisher Marileidy Paulino clocked
47.98 on the rain-slickened track in Tokyo.
The second and third-fastest times in history trailed only the 47.60 by East
Germany's Marita Koch in 1985 --- one of the last remaining vestiges of an
Eastern Bloc doping system that was exposed years after it ended.
When she crossed the line, McLaughlin-Levrone, who moved over from the hurdles
to see what she could do in the 400 flat race, looked over to the clock then
put her hands on her head in apparent shock.
In the lead-up to worlds, McLaughlin-Levrone insisted the women needed to think
about breaking 48 before they could go after what was once thought to be an
unapproachable world record.
Now, that record is on shaky footing --- a lot will depend on what America's
most accomplished one-lap sprinter decides to do over the next few years.
Paulino, the reigning Olympic champion, is also in this mix, and the enormity
of what happened on Day 6 at these worlds wasn't lost on any of the eight women
in the final.
"It's just amazing what the 400 has become the last couple years," said
Britain's Amber Anning, who finished fifth in 49.36. "I love it, it makes me
want to step up my game. To see it done, it gives hope to us that anything's
possible in the 4."
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
|
