Sydney McLauglin-Levrone Breaks World Record For The Sixth Time, Team USA Earns 34 Medals

Team USA earned 34 medals during the track and field portion of the Olympics, the highest medal count since the 1984 L.A. Olympics. They earned 14 gold medals, 11 silver medals, and nine bronze medals.

Here are some stories that contributed to this historical week for Team USA.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Continues To Shatter 400-Meter Hurdle Barriers

The questions fans have about Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin Levrone is how fast can she go? After getting dangerously close to the American record in the 400-meter dash earlier this season and putting up a 200-meter dash time at the LA Grand Prix that would have gotten her into the Paris final, spectators know that her best is yet to come. Her pure athleticism fascinates most.

At the Paris Olympic Games, McLaughlin-Levrone ran 50.37 seconds to set a new world record for the sixth time and earn her second individual Olympic gold medal. As time goes on, McLaughlin-Levrone continues to shatter the ceiling when it comes to limits and expectations for women’s hurdlers. It has even reached the point where World Athletics president Seb Coe is considering raising the women’s hurdle heights in the event.

The world record was 52 seconds only five years ago. Since then, athletes such as McLaughlin-Levrone, Dalilah Muhammad, and Femke Bol have continued to push the boundaries in the event.

Proof of their impact showed in silver medalist Anna Cockrell and fourth-place finisher Jasmine Jones. Cockrell became the fourth fastest woman ever in the event. Just a season or so ago, believing any other woman could run 51 seconds in the event was wishful thinking. Cockrell ran 51.87 seconds to beat Femke Bol, a world champion and the only other woman besides McLaughlin-Levrone to touch 50 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles.

The USC alumni never ran faster than 52.5 seconds before the Olympic final. Her previous personal best of 53.3 seconds was run at the World Athletics Outdoor Championships in Budapest last year. Cockrell showed that through her quick progression, it won’t be long before more women start to break the 52-second barrier.

Jones is proof of this as she ran 52.29 seconds to place fourth. When Jones attended USC this year, she became the second fastest woman in NCAA history behind McLaughlin-Levrone. When McLaughlin-Levrone ran the collegiate record of 52.75 in 2018, there was already talk of her becoming the world record holder since a performance like hers at that age had never been seen before. Since Jones is in good company regarding the all-time 400-meter hurdle list, there is no doubt she will pave a way to greatness soon.

McLaughlin-Levrone kicked off the soon-to-be USA sweep in the hurdle events. After she won her gold medal, Grant Holloway rightfully earned gold in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. Rai Benjamin followed suit and ended his silver medal streak by reigning victorious in the 400-meter hurdles. Masai Russell ended her rookie season by becoming an Olympic champion as well.

USA Women’s 4×100-meter Relay Earn Gold, USA Men Continue Olympic Drought

An interesting story was shaping up around the American 4×100-meter relay. Both teams won gold last year at the world championships, proving that the USA has the depth and skill to dominate the short relays.

When considering the event, readers should understand that having the fastest short sprinters is not an automatic shoe-in for a gold medal. A group of four athletes must move the baton as efficiently as possible around the track, which requires more than just speed. It demands skill and expert knowledge from all athletes involved and the coaches who create the relay orders.

Proof that pure speed isn’t a perfect path for gold is the 2022 World Athletics Outdoor Championships. The Jamaican women were the most dominant country in the short sprints that year, with Shericka Jackson, Elaine Thompson-Herah, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce racking up medals left and right at the world championships. However, the U.S. women still earned a victory despite not having the fastest women in the world on paper.

At the Olympics this year, the Jamaican women’s relay would miss fan favorites Jackson, Herah, and Fraser-Pryce. This time around, team Jamaica had to put up an entirely new team of women who had never run together on the relay before. Although they did not have their veterans running, the young quartet of Kemba Nelson, Tia Clayton, Shashalee Forbes, and Alana Reid impressively earned Jamaica a fifth-place finish.

Team USA used the exact same relay order as last year, only switching Tamari Davis for Melissa Jefferson on the first leg. Although they had several rough baton exchanges during the preliminary round and finals, the USA women won gold in 41.78 seconds, their last time being the 2016 Rio Games.

This was the race to watch for fans looking to see if Sha’Carri Richardson would earn her first Olympic gold medal, if Gabby Thomas could become another step closer to the triple crown, and how well Jamaica would do without their country’s legendary superstars.

The USA men’s 4×100-meter relay only had one job when competing in Paris this year: ending the 20-year Olympic drought of no short relay medals. Unfortunately, the drought will continue until 2028.

After Noah Lyles decided to end his Olympic dream early after testing positive for COVID-19, Team USA needed to decide how they would complete this relay without him. Lyles was anchor on the relay last year, became the Olympic champion in the 100-meter dash several days prior, and earned bronze in the 200-meter dash.

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Although Christian Coleman, Kenny Bednarek, Kyree King, and Fred Kerley would have theoretically done just fine without Lyles’ talent, they failed to get the job done. Unfortunately, the exchange between Coleman and Bednarek ended in a disqualification since Bednarek took off early and left the zone before Coleman could complete the exchange.

The top finishers were Canada, South Africa, and Great Britain.

Quincy Hall And Rai Benjamin Earn Their First Ever Olympic Gold Medals

The potential for Quincy Hall and Benjamin to earn Olympic gold medals in their events has been strong since the season began. Hall had the season almost any athlete would want. Hall improved his season’s best mark every time he raced, having a clear positive progression in the 400-meter dash. He went on to win the U.S. Olympic Trials, running a personal best of 44.17 seconds.

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Before the Paris Olympics, Hall competed at the Monaco Diamond League and ran another personal best of 43.80 seconds. This was shaping up to be his Olympics to lose. However, he would still need to compete as his life depended on it against Matthew Hudson-Smith. Hudson-Smith started to show he was in excellent form before Paris. At the London Diamond League, which took place several days after Monaco, Hudson-Smith ran 43.74 seconds, which became the new world lead.

Hudson-Smith and Hall had something to prove as the Paris Olympics continued to rev up. Both men earned bronze and silver, respectively, at last year’s world championships. Rightfully so, both men believed they had what was necessary to upgrade their medals to gold.

Their confidence was warranted once the 400-meter dash final began. Hudson-Smith, along with Jareem Richards, took the race out hard. Fans could tell Hudson-Smith did not want this to be a close race, and he wanted others to work hard if they wished to steal his gold medal dream. The one who was up for that challenge was Quincy Hall.

As everyone came off the final turn into the homestretch, Hall was nowhere near medal contention. He did not let this stop him from finding another gear and blasting past his competition. In the video, fans could see Hall mustering up every bit of power he could to make it to the line first.

His grit and determination were rewarded with an Olympic Gold medal. Hall became the fourth fastest man in history by running 43.40 seconds. He also is the first American man since the 2008 Olympics to win. Unfortunately, Hudson-Smith placed second, running 43.44 seconds. However, Hudson-Smith has much to smile about as this is his first Olympic medal, and he is now the fifth fastest man of all time.

Benjamin had a similar season to Hall, where spectators viewed him as the favorite to win the 400-meter hurdles. However, Benjamin had a little bit more on the line at these championships. The “Big 3” of the men’s 400-meter hurdles are Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin, and Alison Dos Santos. They are the three fastest men of all time, with Warholm being the world record holder.

Benjamin has only earned silver in every global championship since 2019. Warholm and Dos Santos have had the luxury of earning gold at least once in the past five years. Benjamin is the only one in the rivalry without a gold medal.

This was the first season in a while when all three men were healthy simultaneously, which has contributed to each of them earning different medals. Fans knew this would be a great competition, but Benjamin felt this was his year to win the gold medal.

Benjamin spoke his future into existence during the Paris games. Although Warholm did his best to stay close to Benjamin, when they rounded onto the home stretch, Warholm lost rhythm, which gave Benjamin the advantage he needed to blow the field away.

Benjamin ran 46.46 seconds to win gold, Warholm ran 47.06 for silver, and Dos Santos ran 47.26 for bronze.

Jasmine Moore And Grant Fisher Earn Medals In Both Of Their Events, Team USA Ends Meet With Two More Relay Medals

Only four people on Team USA attempted doubles at the Paris Olympics. Two of them were Jasmine Moore and Grant Fisher. Moore became the first woman in American history to qualify for the long and triple jump at the Olympics. She accomplished this feat last year when she became the first American to qualify for both at a world championship.

Moore qualifying for both events was already an exciting historical moment. When Moore earned bronze medals in both, she joined only three other women in history who have managed to earn medals in both horizontal jumps at the Olympic Games. Moore jumped 6.96 meters in the long jump and 14.67 meters in the triple jump.

Fisher joined Moore on the double medal train when he earned bronze in the 10k on day two of track and field for the Olympics. Fisher always had the potential to make the podium as he is the American record holder in the event. However, countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia have had a strong hold on global championship distance running for years.

Fisher dug deep to find himself on the 10k podium, making his success well deserved. However, the job was not finished. Fisher raced in the 5k final seven days later and looked to see if he could pull off another American success. He did just that as he flew past his competitors on the final straightaway to gain another bronze medal. Fisher’s medal victories, the gold medal from Cole Hocker, and the silver medal from Kenneth Rooks prove that American distance running is on the rise again.

The track and field portion of athletics, in traditional fashion, ended with two of the most riveting 4×400-meter relay races in history. Team USA women featured Shamier Little, McLaughlin-Levrone, Thomas, and Alexis Holmes. This group of women ran an American record of 3:15.27 to earn gold.

Team USA men featured Christopher Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon, and Benjamin. They fought closely with the Botswana quartet but did what needed to be done to win, running 2:54.43. Most excitingly, Quincy Wilson, at just 16-years old, became the youngest male Olympic gold medalist in Team USA history because of their efforts.

Although the Olympics is over, track and field still has more to come. Fans can watch their favorite athletes in Diamond League competitions until September. The full Diamond League schedule can be found here. The Diamond League final will be in Brussels on September 13th and 14th.