Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Beats Her Own World Record as She Wins Gold in Hurdles — and Celebrates with a Tiara!

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone just defended her Olympic gold medal in the women’s 400-meter hurdles on Thursday, Aug. 8 in Paris — and broke her own world record.

She earned her second gold in the women’s 400-meter hurdles final at Stade de France, outracing teammate Anna Cockrell and the Netherlands Femke Bol, who took the silver and bronze, respectively.

Heading into the 2024 Olympic final, McLaughlin-Levrone was already in first place, with Bol trailing close behind.

McLaughlin-Levrone, 25, set the world record time in the event in June with 50.65 seconds — beating her own Olympic record, set during the Tokyo Games.

She again improved upon her own records, finishing on Thursday with a time of 50.37 seconds.

The athlete is now a three-time Olympic medalist, as she also won a gold for the 4×400-meter relay during Tokyo. McLaughlin-Levrone is also now the only woman to win the event in consecutive Olympic Games.

McLaughlin-Levrone was handed a crown shortly after her victory, which she carried onto the track as she posed with an American flag. She later walked along the track with teammate Cockrell while wearing the tiara.

“My sister-in-law brought that,” McLaughlin-Levrone told reporters during a press conference after the race of the tiara. “Just fun, just family, just commemorating the moment.”

She clarified that she did not ask for the tiara, and said that she thought her sister-in-law was joking about bringing one.

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. And sign up for Going for Gold, our Olympics newsletter, to get the biggest stories from the Games delivered straight to your inbox. Watch the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, beginning July 26, on NBC and Peacock.