Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is the greatest female sprinter in American track and field history. Her latest decision about the upcoming United States championships proves she has nothing more to prove.
The 25-year-old could choose to compete in any or all of the five major track and field sprint events.
However, she is focused only on the 400 flat. McLaughlin-Levrone is coming for the crown!
You cannot argue with history.
Although Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone typically runs only at a 400-meter distance — whether that be on flat ground, with hurdles, or in a relay — she could choose to compete for a national title in any distance at or below that distance. As far as I can tell, she became the first person in U.S. history to meet the minimum qualifying standard for all of the sprint events.
That means, technically speaking, McLaughlin-Levrone could run the 100 flat, 100 hurdles, 200 flat, 400 flat and 400 hurdles in Eugene later this month. All five events are open to her after she hit (ran as fast or faster than) the following marks at different points between June 21, 2024 and July 20, 2025:
- 100-meter flat: 11.07 seconds
- 200-meter flat: 22.57 seconds
- 400-meter flat: 51.00 seconds
- 100-meter hurdles: 12.80 seconds
- 400-meter hurdles: 56.00 seconds
No American woman (or any woman, globally) has ever met all five of those qualifying standards in the same calendar year. Irina Privalova of Russia achieved similar marks across all of the flat events and the 100-meter hurdles over the course of her track and field career in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but never in the 400-meter hurdles or in the same year.
There is no documented case of a U.S. or global female athlete achieving all five marks in a single calendar year… until now. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is the first and only.
Thus, she is the greatest all-around sprinter of all-time.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone made her decision.
Even though McLaughlin-Levrone could run in all five sprint events at the upcoming United States Track and Field Championships, she won’t. It is not logistically possible to balance such a busy schedule over the course of multiple days, between the qualifying rounds and knockout rounds. It would also take a serious toll on her body. There is no way.
With that in mind, McLaughlin-Levrone decided to focus on just one event. The reigning gold medalist in the 400-meter hurdles is coming for that same title in only the 400-meter flat.
She currently owns a season’s best of 49.43 in the 400 flat, which puts her at No. 5 in the world and No. 3 among Americans. She was disappointed by the result because her personal best is 48.74 from 2023.
The women’s world record for the 400 flat was set by Marita Koch in 1985 at 47.60. Do not be surprised if Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone gets close in Eugene. The greatest all-around sprinter of all-time has been locked in on this event over the last few months. This upcoming race will likely be a personal best.
Competition gets underway at the U.S. Track and Field Championships on July 31. The 400 flat schedule is as follows:
- Round 1 — Thursday, July 31 at 4:39 p.m. PT
- Semifinal — Friday, August 1 at 6:03 p.m. PT
- Final — Saturday, August 2 at 1:03 p.m. PT
I fully expect it to be a blowout. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is going to run away with it.