“It's an American record,” McLaughlin-Levrone said, a sheepish smile on her face. “We're almost there. But that's OK. We still have plenty of time.”
If there's anything in American track and field that could match McLaughlin-Levrone's dominance, it's the expectations she has of herself, but she'll have to wait a while to close the gap of 0.04 seconds between her and Saniya Richards-Ross' American record.
At the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, starting on June 21, McLaughlin-Levrone will compete only in the 400m hurdles, an event in which she has often broken world records by large margins since 2021. The 24-year-old McLaughlin-Levrone, who won the event, had openly considered switching events or trying for an individual gold medal double at the Paris Olympics. However, at the start of this season, she declared that she would stick to her “main event” and compete only in the 400m hurdles and no other individual events. She is also almost certain to compete in the 4×400 relay.
McLaughlin-Levrone reiterated that decision this weekend in New York, without much explanation. “It was a decision we made at the start of the season,” McLaughlin-Levrone said of herself and her coach, Bobby Carthy. She missed the 2023 World Championships because of a knee injury, but said that wasn’t a deciding factor in her missing out on the doubles opportunity.
There's no doubt that McLaughlin-Levrone is capable of anything she sets her sights on: At a meet in Los Angeles in May, she outshone a field of 200-meter runners, including Gabby Thomas, the reigning Olympic bronze medalist and the top American woman at the distance.
“If she wants to focus on the 200 meters, I'm sure she can win a medal in Paris,” Thomas said.
McLaughlin's time of 22.07 seconds was the world's fastest time in the 200 meters until the University of Mississippi's Mackenzie Long won in 21.83 at the NCAA Championships this weekend. (Keep Long's name in mind at the trials later this month; that time would have earned her a spot on the 2021 U.S. Olympic team.)
McLaughlin-Levrone said she competed in the 400 meters flat in New York as “a gauge of where we are and what we need to work on going forward,” a tune-up event in which she nearly set an American record.
McLaughlin-Levrone's choice not to multi-event may disappoint some in the athletics world. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has previously said he would like to see more top athletes compete in multiple events at the Olympics, because such ambition creates stars. When athletes appear on nightly broadcasts and become recurring characters, it increases the chances that they will transcend the competitive world.
Noah Lyles would be happy to fill that role. Lyles won three gold medals at last summer's world championships, in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4×100 meter relay, and enters the qualifying rounds as arguably the fastest man in the world.
Lyles is looking to repeat the feat in Paris and appears to be on schedule. He ran 9.85 seconds in the 100 meters in Jamaica two weeks ago, losing by 0.02 seconds to Jamaican Oblique Sevilla, but Lyles' relatively weak start provided some optimism.
“I saw everything I saw at the world championships,” Lyles said, “and I thought, ‘Wow,’ so I’m really happy to be here so early in the season.”
This weekend in New York, Lyles attended a private premiere of “Sprint,” a Netflix documentary that follows Lyles and other elite sprinters (including 100m world champion Sha'Cary Richardson) through the 2023 season. World Athletics is working with Netflix and the show's producers in hopes that the show will gain popularity in the same way that “Drive to Survive” did for Formula 1.
On the track, Lyles was hoping to run a season-best time in the 200 meters, his first of the year. A strong headwind on Sunday prevented him from beating the 19.67 seconds set by current Olympic silver medalist Kenny Bednarek in Qatar last month, but Lyles was confident that in neutral conditions his winning time of 19.77 would have been in the 19.5 range.
“I was like, oh, OK, we're going to nationals and we're in a strong position in all events,” Lyles said.
Lyles could probably make the Olympic team by backing down in the 200. The 100 is more stressful, but one of his main rivals in that event, Fred Curley, is set to enter Eugene after an upset.
On Sunday in New York, Curley refused to run what was meant to be his final tune-up for the Trials. He felt the blocks move as he stepped on them, a problem that other sprinters had noted. After that happened a second time, causing another delay, Curley decided his muscles were cold and that running would put him at risk of injury.
“Those blocks looked like basic blocks,” Carly said. “We're in a professional tournament, we should be using professional blocks.”
The controversy arose after Currie arrived at Icahn Stadium wearing Puma cleats, despite being sponsored by Asics. was ASICS subsequently announced that it was ending its partnership with Carly.
Carly was expected to win the 100m at the 2022 World Championships, which would validate her silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics and show she is firmly established as one of the world's top sprinters. But at last year's World Championships, she lost steam in the last 20 meters of her semifinal and missed out on the final. “That performance was definitely motivation for me,” Carly said. “I know what I have left to show.”
For Carly, the U.S. Trials will be her chance to re-establish her place on a strong U.S. team. A generation of young stars in U.S. track and field led a change in the sport with mixed success at the Tokyo Olympics. McLaughlin-Levrone and Assing Mu had impressive performances, but the U.S. men were unable to win their first Olympic gold medal in track and field. All of these athletes have developed over the past three years and have dominated the past two World Championships, giving the U.S. team a chance to win in Paris.
“This is a really good group,” McLaughlin-Levrone said, “and I honestly don't know if there's a cap. The possibilities of what can happen are endless. We're getting younger and younger, we're getting faster and faster. There's no cap.”
