We’re so excited for the Summer Olympics later this month and all of the amazing athletes competing for gold. One of the women we’re especially looking forward to watching is track and star Sydney McLaughlin.
McLaughlin will be running the 400 meter hurdles in Tokyo, which she qualified for back in June at the Olympic trials. But she didn’t just qualify. She broke a world record and finished with a time of 51.90 seconds. This means she was the first woman to run faster than 52 seconds, according to ESPN.
That’s incredible! After she broke the world record, fans of McLaughlin (which included other athletes) celebrated on twitter and congratulated her on her amazing accomplishment.
Of course, if you’ve been following track and field for a while, Sydney McLaughlin isn’t a new name. She was a member of the 2016 Olympic team at just 17 years old, won a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships, and she ran track at the University of Kentucky during the 2017-18 season before turning pro. At Kentucky, she broke a collegiate record during the SEC Championship, and won an NCAA Championship. Did we mention she’s only 21?
We cannot wait to see what Sydney can do in Tokyo, and we hope she brings home the gold. But whatever happens, we’re going to be cheering for her and all of the other phenomenal Team USA athletes!
If you want to follow McLaughlin’s journey or learn more about her, check out her social media sites at GoSydGo and sydneymclaughlin16. We don’t think you’ll regret it.
Will you be watching the Olympics? Who are your favorite Olympians? Leave a comment and let us know!
The Olympic games begin Friday, July 23.