WITH WR HOLDER Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opting to run the flat 400, the stage was set for some new blood to take the podium in the long hurdles.
As it turns out, the stage was handed over to some old blood having a reunion. Shamier Little vs. Dalilah Muhammad defined the back end of the previous decade as they combined to win every USA title 2015–19, so their thrilling duel that eventually went to Little counted as a throwback Sunday.
Little’s victory in McLaughlin-Levrone’s absence was somewhat expected given her form this season, Muhammad’s silver a little more of a surprise given a string of health issues that didn’t clear up until a few weeks ago, but their 1–2 finish wasn’t in doubt from the gun of this one.
Running in lane 5, Little got out in a hurry and counts as a wire-to-wire winner, but her edge over Muhammad right behind her in lane 4 was never more than a few inches until the final steps.
Muhammad’s long chase finally had her pulling even on the last barrier, but Little eased away coming off that hurdle to win in a season’s best 53.34 that marked her first national title since ’18. Muhammad also had her best time of the year in 53.53 while Anna Cockrell, Muhammad’s Nike stable mate and training partner, made her first Worlds team and reached the standard to get there with a 54.24.
Said Little, “It felt so good. It’s been so long. I’ve been working on a lot of things and I’m glad to come back with the win.”
Muhammad, who won this race in ’13, ’16, ’17 & ’19, has dealt with calf and back issues this season and got healthy just in time to make it to Budapest. She said she didn’t know how that happened.
“I can’t even tell you that, I honestly don’t know,” she said. “By the grace of God, honestly. I put in the hard work with my coaches and this lovely athlete [Cockrell] right here.”
Said Cockrell, “I’m so grateful. Every day I get to train with [Muhammad], everyday I get to work with the most unbelievable athletes. I have such a good support system. This is not my win, it’s our win. It’s a good feeling.”
WOMEN’S 400H RESULTS
FINAL (July 09)
1. Shamier Little (adidas) 53.34;
2. Dalilah Muhammad (Nike) 53.53;
3. Anna Cockrell (Nike) 54.24;
4. Shani’a Bellamy (LSU) 55.65;
5. Cassandra Tate (unat) 56.09;
6. Lauren Hoffman (SJTC) 56.13;
7. Madison Langley-Walker (Ar) 56.94;
8. Kaila Barber (TS) 57.51.
(lanes: 1. Barber; 2. Langley-Walker; 3. Bellamy; 4. Muhammad; 5. Little; 6. Cockrell; 7. Tate; 8. Hoffman)
(RT: 0.169 Bellamy; 0.201 Cockrell; 0.212 Little; 0.213 Barber; 0.226 Langley-Walker; 0.228 Muhammad; 0.235 Tate; 0.284 Hoffman)
HEATS (July 07)
I–1. Little 55.32; 2. Bellamy 55.57; 3. Langley-Walker 56.32; 4. Vanessa Watson (Fl) 56.44; 5. Barber 56.62; 6. Erin Dowd (unat) 56.99; 7. Riley Knebes (unat) 58.29.
II–1. Muhammad 54.56; 2. Tate 55.40; 3. Abbey Glynn (Co) 57.72; 4. Bianca Stubler (TS) 57.97; 5. Mariel Bruxvoort (Ia) 59.01; 6. Nicole Stephens (Mi) 1:00.26;… dnf—Deshae Wise (TSB).
III–1. Cockrell 55.74; 2. Hoffman 56.49; 3. Jessica Wright (How) 56.81; 4. Ashley Spencer (Nike) 56.92; 5. Ashonti Warner (Ok) 58.96; 6. Paige Magee (Ia) 59.26; 7. Shannon Meisberger (unat) 1:00.10; 8. Chastity Pickett (Campb) 1:01.97.
SEMIS (July 08)
I–1. Muhammad 54.17; 2. Tate 55.31; 3. Bellamy 56.03; 4. Barber 56.39; 5. Wright 56.45; 6. Stubler 56.58; 7. Glynn 57.43; 8. Warner 58.85.
II–1. Little 54.84; 2. Cockrell 55.44; 3. Hoffman 56.00; 4. Langley-Walker 56.44; 5. Watson 56.62; 6. Spencer 56.75; 7. Knebes 58.05; 8. Dowd 58.34.