Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone starts 400m quest at USATF Championships tonight
The Toyota USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships begin today at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, and Kentucky’s most famous track and field alumnus starts her quest in a new event on night one.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the world record holder and reigning gold medalist in the 400-meter hurdles, competes in the first round of the 400 meters flat starting at 7:56 p.m. ET. To advance to the World Championships in Budapest in August, she must finish in the top three. McLaughlin-Levrone ran the 400 meters flat for the first time in two years in early June and set a personal record (PR), 49.51 at the NYC Grand Prix on June 25. Tonight will only be her fifth time running the 400 meters since turning pro in 2018.
“The flat is definitely harder in my opinion,” McLaughlin-Levrone said at the NYC Grand Prix, via Reuters. “It’s hard to kind of figure out your cadence midrace. At least with hurdles I kind of know where I’m at. It’s a different kind of pain but the challenging good one. … Some things to clean up, but a PR is a PR.”
Because McLaughlin-Levrone won the 400m hurdles at last year’s Worlds, she is guaranteed a spot in that event this year; however, her coach says she will not run both in Budapest, meaning if she qualifies in the 400m, she’ll decide between the two. The world record in the 400m is 47.60 set by Marita Koch in 1985. No American has come within a full second of it.
“Is the world record attainable? At some point in the future, I think so,” McLaughlin-Levrone told USA TODAY Sports. “When and if we go for that − we haven’t decided − I do think it is humanly and physically possible, yes.”
Want to watch Go Syd Go tonight? The meet will be streamed live on USATF.tv and Peacock each day as well as CNBC from 10 p.m. to midnight ET on Friday and from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday. Live results can be found at results.usatf.org.
Fellow former Cat Alexis Holmes (Class of 2022) is also running the 400 meters tonight. McLaughlin-Levrone and Holmes are two of 16 current and former Kentucky Wildcats competing in Eugene. Other familiar names include Keni Harrison, Javianne Oliver, Abby Steiner, and Masai Russell. Harrison and Russell start their quest in the 100m hurdles tomorrow night.
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Kentucky Track & Field at the USATF Outdoor Championships
Men
- Christian Coleman (UK Volunteer Assistant Coach, UT alumnus) – 100m, 200m
- Keaton Daniel – Pole Vault
- Andrew Evans (Class of 2014) – Discus
- Brian Faust – 400m
- Daniel Roberts (Class of 2019) – 110m hurdles
- Josh Sobota – Shot Put
Women
- Karimah Davis – 200m
- Charity Griffith – High Jump
- Micaela Hazlewood (Class of 2019) – Discus
- Keni Harrison (Class of 2015) – 100m hurdle
- Alexis Holmes (UKTF Class of 2022) – 400m
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (UKTF Class of 2018) – 400m
- Javianne Oliver (UKTF Class of 2016) – 100m
- Masai Russell – 100m Hurdles
- Abby Steiner (UKTF Class of 2022) – 200m
- Sha’Keela Saunders (Class of 2017) – Long Jump
USATF Outdoor Championships Schedule
All Times Eastern
Thursday, July 6
| Men’s Discus Throw | 6:30 p.m. | Final | Andrew Evans |
| Nike Women’s 100m | 7:04 p.m. | First Round | Javianne Oliver |
| Xfinity Men’s 100m | 7:30 p.m. | First Round | Christian Coleman |
| Xfinity Women’s 400m | 7:56 p.m. | First Round | Alexis Holmes, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone |
| Toyota Men’s 400m | 8:23 p.m. | First Round | Brian Faust |
Friday, July 7
| Women’s 100H | 7:27 p.m. | First Round | Keni Harrison, Masai Russell |
| Women’s High Jump | 8:40 p.m. | Final | Charity Griffith |
| Nike Women’s 100m | 10:14 p.m. | Semi-Final | Javianne Oliver |
| Xfinity Men’s 100m | 10:29 p.m. | Semifinal | Christian Coleman |
| Toyota Men’s 400m | 11:14 p.m. | Semifinal | Brian Faust |
| Xfinity Women’s 400m | 11:29 p.m. | Semifinal | Alexis Holmes, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone |
| Nike Women’s 100m | 11:45 p.m. | Final | Javianne Oliver |
| Xfinity Men’s 100m | 11:54 p.m. | Final | Christian Coleman |
Saturday, July 8
| Toyota Men’s 200m | 7:43 p.m. | First Round | Christian Coleman |
| Men’s Pole Vault | 8:00 p.m. | Final | Keaton Daniel |
| Toyota Women’s 200m | 8:09 p.m. | First Round | Karimah Davis, Abby Steiner |
| Men’s 110H | 8:37 p.m. | First Round | Daniel Roberts |
| Women’s 100H | 9:02 p.m. | Semifinal | Keni Harrison, Masai Russell |
| Xfinity Women’s 400m | 9:19 p.m. | Final | Alexis Holmes, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone |
| Toyota Men’s 400m | 9:26 p.m. | Final | Brian Faust |
| Women’s 100H | 10:55 p.m. | Final | Keni Harrison, Masai Russell |
Sunday, July 9
| Women’s Discus Throw | 8:00 p.m. | Final | Micaela Hazlewood |
| Toyota Men’s 200m | 8:30 p.m. | Semifinal | Christian Coleman |
| Women’s Long Jump | 8:40 p.m. | Final | Sha’keela Saunders |
| Toyota Women’s 200m | 8:45 p.m. | Semifinal | Abby Steiner, Karimah Davis |
| Men’s 110H | 9:02 p.m. | Semifinal | Daniel Roberts |
| Men’s Shot Put | 9:15 p.m. | Final | Josh Sobota |
| Toyota Women’s 200m | 10:10 p.m. | Final | Abby Steiner, Karimah Davis |
| Toyota Men’s 200m | 10:20 p.m. | Final | Christian Coleman |
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