Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is rubbing her hands with glee at the prospect of overcoming the challenge she set herself at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, starting on Saturday (13 September).
The double Olympic 400m hurdles champion will step out of the comfort zone of her pet event when she backs into the blocks in the flat one-lap race at the upcoming global showpiece.
McLaughlin-Levrone will not only take on a different event but will do so without the aura of invincibility that often accompanies her in the hurdles event.
The 26-year-old McLaughlin-Levrone steps onto the track at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo as the third fastest woman in the 400m this year with the 48.90 seconds she clocked at the US Trials.
Bahrain’s former world champion Salwa Eid Naser leads the charge with her season’s best 48.67, while Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino clocked the second fastest time this year with 48.81.
The flat 400m will be a different challenge for the ambitious McLaughlin-Levrone, but it is one she relishes.
“I’ve loved the idea of stepping out into different events, challenging myself, pushing myself, seeing if I can be the best, well-rounded athlete I can before I hang up my spikes, and so this was definitely a huge challenge, a huge undertaking,” McLaughlin-Levrone told Athletics Weekly.
“I’ve learned so much this season about the 400m, about myself, about how it’s so different from the hurdles, but I’ve loved every second of it, and I think that challenge is what makes me a competitor.”
Eid Naser is also the third-fastest woman in history over one lap, with a personal best of 48.14, which is still some way off East Germany’s Marita Koch’s world record of 47.60 from 1985.
McLaughlin-Levrone’s stellar performances in the hurdles have created expectations from track fans that the US superstar will deliver something out of this world every time she steps onto the track. The hype has followed her into the one-lap event.
“Over the past few years, the performances that we have put on have created an appetite for records whenever I step on the track, which to a degree, I guess is fair,” she said.
“But, at the same time, those come when they come and – especially an event like the 400m – takes time. It takes a lot of learning the event. There’s always a question when I run: ‘Is she going to break something today? Is the American record going to fall? The world record, or whatever it is, which I think is exciting for the sport and fair for people to desire.
“But I just want to be the best track athlete I can be, and if that means it takes time to get faster in the 400m, if it takes years or whatever it is, I want to work to do that.”
McLaughlin-Levrone is ready to take the next phase in her evolution on the track. The world championships will reveal whether it will be a small step or a major leap.