McLaughlin-Levrone stuns with world 400m hurdles record, Tebogo and Nadeem upset the favourites in Paris

With a performance as electrifying as it was enthralling, as powerful as it was peerless, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone cemented her status as one of the sport’s all-time greats by obliterating her world record in the 400m hurdles Olympic final in Paris on Thursday (8) – the US superstar clocking a time that seems plucked from a different stratosphere: 50.37.

That was the undoubted highlight on a night where Letsile Tebogo won Botswana its first ever Olympic gold medal, floating to victory in the men’s 200m in 19.46 with 100m champion Noah Lyles only third in 19.70. Pakistan won its first ever Olympic gold in athletics via Arshad Nadeem, who launched an Olympic record of 92.97m to win the men’s javelin. USA’s Grant Holloway finally got the one thing his career was missing, Olympic gold, in the men’s 110m hurdles, clocking 12.99. While in the women’s long jump, effervescent US star Tara Davis-Woodhall, with a leap of 7.10m, achieved her lifelong dream.

But there was no doubt about the star performer.

It was the 25-year-old New Jersey native, who made all the talk of a head-to-head with Dutch star Femke Bol seem like hyperbole with a solo exhibition that will live long in the memories of those who packed the stands at the Stade de France. Bol was unable to stay with her and faded down the home straight, with USA’s Anna Cockrell coming through for silver in a big PB of 51.87, Bol third in 52.15.

McLaughlin-Levrone rocketed out of the blocks, making full use of her improved flat speed in the opening half lap. Bol had tried to go with her, with just 0.14 separating them over hurdle five. But trying to stay with the US star on this night was like trying to outrun a TGV across the French countryside. McLaughlin-Levrone extended her advantage over Bol to half a second by hurdle eight and it was a whopping 1.78 seconds at the finish.

“It’s amazing,” said McLaughlin-Levrone. “Just a lot of hard work put in this year. I knew it was going to be a tough race.”

In the men’s javelin, Arshad Nadeem broke new ground for Pakistan, winning the nation its first ever athletics gold at the Olympics with a massive Olympic record of 92.97m in the second round. For good measure, he closed the competition with a 91.79m effort.

“When I threw the javelin, I got the feel of it leaving my hand, and sensed it could be an Olympic record,” he said.

Silver went to India’s defending champion Neeraj Chopra with 89.45m while Grenada’s Anderson Peters won bronze with 88.54m.

Tara Davis-Woodhall seized command of the women’s long jump final with 7.05m in the second round and she was unchallenged thereafter, extending her lead with her winning jump of 7.10m coming in the fourth round. Germany’s Malaika Mihambo took silver with 6.98m while USA’s Jasmine Moore won bronze with 6.96m, adding to her bronze from the triple jump.

“I’ve dreamed of this moment my entire life – (I was) four years old when I started track and field,” she said. “I’ve been telling myself all year: 8-0-8, that’s the day we win the Olympics.”

In the men’s 200m final, all eyes were on US star Noah Lyles to see if he could repeat his double from Budapest last year and the 100m champion made an electrifying entrance, one with an energy he couldn’t match in the race itself.

Try as he might, Lyles couldn’t keep up with Letsile Tebogo and Kenny Bednarek, who led the way home in 19.46 (0.4m/s) and 19.62, with Lyles settling for bronze in 19.70. USA Track and Field later confirmed that Lyles had been diagnosed with Covid-19 earlier this week.

“I saw at the World Championships last year that (Lyles) had a great curve, so I trained on that every single day until I had it to perfection,” said Tebogo. “Not quite perfection, but I knew I could do something like this.”

In the concluding event of the night, the men’s 110m hurdles, Grant Holloway was his typically explosive self over the first five barriers, building an advantage that carried him to his first Olympic title in 12.99 (-0.1m/s), which he said “means the world”.

His US teammate Daniel Roberts took silver in 13.09, just three thousandths of a second ahead of Jamaica’s Rasheed Broadbell, who won bronze with the same time.

In the heptathlon, Nafi Thiam remains on track to win her third straight Olympic title after a strong first day, though to get it, she will have to overhaul Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson who has the overnight lead with 4055 points. Thiam sits second with 4007, with USA’s Anna Hall third with 3956.

Thiam opened with 13.56 in the 100m hurdles, cleared 1.92m in the high jump, equalled her PB with 15.54m in the shot put before clocking 24.46 in the 200m. Johnson-Thompson clocked 13.40 in the hurdles, cleared 1.92m in the high jump, threw a huge PB of 14.44m in the shot put and clocked 23.44 in the 200m.

The women’s 1500m semi-finals saw comfortable wins for Faith Kipyegon (3:58.64) and Diribe Welteji (3:55.10), with Jessica Hull, Gudaf Tsegay and Laura Muir among those also advancing.

Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

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