SAINT-DENIS, France — The showdown is set in the women’s 400-meter hurdles. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone cruised to Thursday’s final with a time of 52.13 on Tuesday. She was nearly two seconds ahead of her heat’s runner-up, and that was only because she let off the gas while Louise Maraval of France made a late surge for the last automatic qualifier spot, much to the delight of the Stade de France crowd.
Many more know her greatest obstacle now — Femke Bol of the Netherlands — after Bol snatched victory from America with a memorable chase down on the final leg of the mixed 4×100 relay on Friday. Bol is also through without issue, advancing easily with a time of 52.56 in the heat right after McLaughlin-Levrone’s.
So the rematch from the Tokyo Olympics is on. McLaughlin-Levrone, the defending champion in the 400 hurdles, has to be favored. She’s the best in the world and the last time she ran, at the U.S. Olympic trials, she broke the world record. And she’s focused her energies on this one event. She’s been preparing for this all year, running 200-meter dashes and 400-meter flat races to fine-tune her stride.
McLaughlin-Levrone has set the last five world records in the event, including the current mark of 50.65 she eked out at the U.S. Olympic trials. She could do it again with the motivation of a stout competitor like Bol on the track with her.
It’s not unreasonable to wonder if she will run a sub-50-second lap.
Bol, who won the bronze in Tokyo, has consistently gotten better. She’s shaved nearly three seconds off her time in the three years since and is the only legitimate shot to beat McLaughlin-Levrone. She’s been coming for McLaughlin-Levrone, who’s handed Bol her only two losses since October 2019, when she was 19 years old.
Both are tall, with McLaughlin standing 5-foot-9 and Bol at 6-feet, and both glide with their trademark long strides. Both are 24, which means the rivalry could continue for years.
But McLaughlin-Levrone is among the most talented athletes in track and field in the world, and the most private. She scarcely races and keeps her future plans closer to the vest. She could do anything, and she just might. So this could be the final showdown between the two.
Only two questions remain ahead of Thursday’s final. Is Bol ready to dethrone the best? Or is Sydney going to break the world record again? Both can’t be true.
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(Photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
