EUGENE: Sydney McLaughlin smashed yet another world record in the 400 metres hurdles at the U.S championships on Saturday, while Michael Norman won the men’s 400 metres.

In her final national championship race, Allyson Felix, the most decorated woman in track history, finished sixth in the 400.

Olympic gold medallist McLaughlin never faced a serious challenge in the final at Eugene, Oregon’s Hayward Field, breaking her own world record to win in 51.41 seconds before offering up a double-thumbs to the roaring fans.

Norman won in a world-leading 43.56 seconds, with Champion Allison and Randolph Ross finishing second and third, respectively.

“When the gun went off you could just kind of feel that everyone was elevating the performance,” said Norman, a Tokyo relay gold medallist.

The top three finishers in Eugene, Oregon, who meet certain qualifying standards, and reigning global title-holders will compete at the world championships, which will be held in the U.S for the first time from July 15 at the same track.

World record-holder Kendra Harrison clinched the 100 metres hurdles final in a world-leading 12.34 seconds, holding off Alaysha Johnson by a hundredth of a second with Alia Armstrong finishing third. Reigning champion Nia Ali did not run in the final after clinching her semi-final heat earlier in the day.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2022