NO HURDLES, NO PROBLEM. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone continued her hiatus from the barriers to dominate the flat 400, cracking the all-time global top 10 and scaring the American Record. Britton Wilson and defending champ Talitha Diggs will join her on the team for Budapest.
(SML hasn’t officially revealed whether she’ll run this event at Worlds, or whether she’ll use her Wild Card to enter her specialty, the 400H. But given her dominance in this race, and no 400H competitions so far this year, it wouldn’t be surprising if she sees this experiment on the flat all the way through.)
In the heats, McLaughlin-Levrone (49.79) and NCAA runner-up Wilson (50.08) were easy winners, and it was the same story in the semis the next day, with McLaughlin-Levrone taking an early lead (23.87) and pulling steadily away over the final 150 to come home in 49.60. Wilson’s Arkansas teammate Rosey Effiong passed Lynna Irby-Jackson in the final meters to get 2nd, 51.00–51.19.
Wilson, coming off an intense collegiate season and with her left-shin bandaged, looked in control in the second semi, running an easy 50.59 ahead of fast-finishing Florida junior Diggs (50.95).
In the final, McLaughlin-Levrone went out hard in lane 5 and closed the stagger on the trio of women outside her — Effiong, Diggs and Jermaisha Arnold — by 150m. She hit 200 in 23.24 and had a comfortable lead over Wilson (23.45), a lane inside her.
Showing no signs of fatigue, she reached the 300 in 35.38 and finished strongly to clock a year-leading 48.74, moving to No. 10 on the world all-time list and just missing Sanya Richards-Ross’ AR 48.70. She did, however, take down Richards-Ross’ MR 49.27 from ‘06.
Wilson, who also bypassed the 400H here, was unable to make any dent in McLaughlin-Levrone’s lead, but was a comfortable runner-up in 49.79, well down from the 49.13 CR she set in May.
New pro Diggs, only 7th at 300, gradually closed down on the field and finally passed Irby-Jackson in the final 30m to grab the third spot on the team, trimming her PR to 49.93 — a fine return for the Gator who placed 5th in the NCAA lap. Irby-Jackson (50.11) held 4th, with Effiong (50.41) 5th.
“It’s been amazing to be able to PR every time I race and just get more comfortable with it, and the times will keep coming down,” McLaughlin-Levrone said of her foray into the flat this year after winning Olympic and world titles and setting 4 WRs in the hurdles over the past two seasons.
“Obviously I want to continue to get better and put the race together properly. Like I’ve said, once I put the front half and the back half together, that’s when it happens, and I think today’s race showed that.”
WOMEN’S 400 RESULTS
FINAL (July 08)
1. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (NBal) 48.74 (WL, AL) (10, x W; 2, 2 A) (MR)
(11.89, 11.35 [23.24], 12.14 [35.38], 13.36) (23.24/25.50);
2. Britton Wilson (Ar) 49.79
(12.30, 11.15 [23.45], 12.37 [35.82], 13.97) (23.45/26.34);
3. Talitha Diggs (adidas) 49.93
(12.41, 11.80 [24.21], 12.56 [36.77], 13.16) (24.21/25.72);
4. Lynna Irby-Jackson (adidas) 50.11
(12.11, 11.84 [23.95], 12.35 [36.30], 13.81) (23.95/26.16);
5. Rosey Effiong (Ar) 50.41
(12.20, 11.61 [23.81], 12.63 [36.44], 13.97) (23.81/26.60);
6. Makenzie Dunmore (TS) 50.96
(12.34, 11.49 [23.83], 12.60 [36.43], 14.53) (23.83/27.13);
7. Jermaisha Arnold (TxAM) 51.12
(12.90, 11.82 [24.72], 12.71 [37.43], 13.69) (24.72/26.40);
8. Quanera Hayes (Nik) 51.50
(12.35, 11.50 [23.85], 12.73 [36.58], 14.92) (23.85/27.65).
(lanes: 1. Hayes; 2. Dunmore; 3. Irby-Jackson; 4. Wilson; 5. McLaughlin-Levrone; 6. Effiong; 7. Diggs; 8. Arnold)
(RT: 0.177 Diggs; 0.186 Dunmore; 0.190 Wilson; 0.194 Irby-Jackson; 0.197 Effiong; 0.238 McLaughlin-Levrone; 0.247 Hayes; 0.260 Arnold)
HEATS (July 06)
I–1. Wilson 50.08; 2. Irby-Jackson (adi) 50.80; 3. Ziyah Holman (Mi) 51.38; 4. Shae Anderson (unat) 51.78; 5. Kiah Williams (UCF) 51.89; 6. Taiya Shelby (Vand) 52.64; 7. Brittany Aveni (unat) 53.88.
II–1. McLaughlin-Levrone 49.79; 2. Dunmore (Tracksm) 51.07; 3. Hayes 51.32; 4. Maya Singletary (NCC) 51.44; 5. Kendall Ellis (NBal) 51.70; 6. Tierra Robinson (TxAM) 52.01; 7. Shakima Wimbley (unat) 52.96.
III–1. Diggs (Fl) 51.31; 2. Arnold 51.35; 3. Alexis Holmes (Nik) 51.51; 4. Wadeline Jonathas (adi) 51.72; 5. Jada Griffin (NCAT) 53.44; 6. Na’Asha Robinson (unat) 54.34; 7. Latasha Smith (UCF) 54.53.
IV–1. Effiong 51.35; 2. Courtney Okolo (unat) 51.56; 3. Paris Peoples (Ar) 51.95; 4. Jan’Taijah Jones (USC) 52.09; 5. Bailey Lear (USC) 52.78; 6. Taylor Manson (unat) 52.79; 7. Kaylin Whitney (NikeRB) 53.18; 8. Ava Alexander (Maveric) 57.46.
SEMIS (July 07)
I–1. McLaughlin-Levrone 49.60; 2. Effiong 51.00; 3. Irby-Jackson 51.19; 4. Hayes 51.58; 5. Singletary 52.52; 6. Okolo 52.78; 7. Anderson 52.85; 8. Peoples 53.59.
II–1. Wilson 50.59; 2. Diggs 50.95; 3. Arnold 51.27; 4. Dunmore 51.51; 5. Holmes 51.68; 6. Ellis 51.70; 7. Holman 52.37; 8. Jonathas 52.64.