Women's 400 Meter Hurdles Finals Were Crazy __ Sydney McLaughlin VS. Femke Bol - Paris Olympics 2024
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00:00Alright everyone, it is time for one of the most anticipated races of this 2024 Olympic
00:08season.
00:09It is the women's 400m hurdles finals in this year's Paris Games.
00:13Now this race has historically been the site of absolute madness and record-breaking runs.
00:19Since the Tokyo Olympics, any global final in the women's 400 hurdles means that something
00:24lightning quick is about to go down.
00:26And for today, this speed could be next level once again, and that's because Sydney McLaughlin
00:31Leverone, the current world record holder, will be competing against Femke Boll from
00:35the Netherlands, the number two all-time performer in this event.
00:39Here is an amazing statistic.
00:40In the history of their careers, Sydney McLaughlin and Femke Boll have only raced two times,
00:46and in both of these 400 hurdles matchups, the world record was broken each time they
00:50raced.
00:51In 2021, McLaughlin broke the world record with a time of 51.46 seconds at the Tokyo
00:55Olympics, and following behind her were Dalila Mohamed and Femke Boll, who in this same race
01:02became the second and third fastest athletes in history.
01:05This race was certainly crazy, and for many, this was the race of the Tokyo Games.
01:09However, the 2022 world finals may have been even more significant, and that's because
01:14Sydney McLaughlin achieved one of the craziest world records of all time, smashing her own
01:19record mark by 0.73 seconds, achieving a time of 50.68 seconds.
01:25Now believe it or not, this was the single biggest world record leap in Women's 400
01:30Hurdles history, going all the way back to when world records in this event were first
01:34recognized in 1974.
01:37And this kind of breaks the brain, because the faster that world records get, the more
01:40difficult that they should be to improve upon.
01:43But for this day, McLaughlin turned on the jets and set one of the greatest world records
01:47of all time.
01:48McLaughlin's name in the history books has already been cemented, but it's also important
01:52to mention that she broke the world record again this season, dropping a time of 50.65
01:58seconds at this year's United States Nationals, a performance that once again left the track
02:02world speechless.
02:03Now, McLaughlin-Levrone is certainly the favorite, and her position as the world number one is
02:08unwavering.
02:10But Femke Boll's season has also been incredible, and that's because she also joined McLaughlin-Levrone
02:14in the Sub-51 club.
02:16This year's meeting in the Champs de France in Switzerland, we saw Femke Boll drop a time
02:20of 50.95, a massive improvement for her, and it only put her 0.3 seconds behind McLaughlin-Levrone's
02:28world record.
02:29This really got the track world talking about the possibilities of what could happen when
02:33McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Boll race in this year's Olympic final.
02:37And today, we finally get to see what this clash brings on the world's biggest stage.
02:42So now, without further ado, let's head to the track and see how this women's 400
02:47hurdles finals unfolded.
02:50After a fair start, both Cydney McLaughlin and Femke Boll got out very quickly, and through
02:54the opening couple of hurdles, they were right next to each other.
02:58And it's also important to mention that Anna Cockrell from the United States was also
03:02looking very strong through these opening stages.
03:05Now at the halfway point, they were pretty much even, but then, like she always does,
03:10we saw Cydney McLaughlin separate with ease, and over these final moments, she continued
03:15to separate down the home stretch.
03:18With a finishing time of 50.37 seconds, she again broke her own world record for a sixth
03:24time, which is already one of the most incredible things that will ever happen in this event.
03:30But what was also a pretty big moment in this race was what happened in second, because
03:34we saw Anna Cockrell from the United States get up for second place.
03:39With a finishing time of 51.87 seconds, a massive personal record for Anna Cockrell,
03:46and finishing in third was Femke Boll in 52.15.
03:50Still a very respectable result, but the United States went 1-2 here.
03:55This has to be the most athletes under 53 in a single race that we have ever seen.
04:01And once again, McLaughlin-Lebrunet absolutely dominated this field, and she won by a full
04:07second and a half.
04:08Thanks for watching everyone, and as always, until next time.