McLaughlin smashes his record in the 400 meter hurdles of the stars!

The American broke her world record by almost a second and will be the image of these World Cups

Michael Normal and Shaunae Miller-Uibo reigned in the 400 smooth and the Australian Barber revalidated her gold in javelin

The first universal record in the Eugene Outdoor Athletics World Championships has been long in coming, but that wait has been worth it after the Outstanding performance by Sydney McLaughlin in the 400m hurdles to exalt her as the great queen of this event in Oregon along with the Peruvian Kimberly García León and her two gold medals in progress.

In a final full of stars, the American started as the great favorite and with the world record achieved in the Trials (51.41) as an added goal. Opposite, her compatriot Dalilah Muhammad and Shanier Little along with the outstanding Dutch Femke Bol.

However, there was no story. Muhammad came out very strong, but McLaughlin took compensation on the backstretch and when passing through the antepenultimate fence, he is already almost 10 meters ahead of all his rivals.

The brand shook Hayward Field. At just 22 years old, the athlete from New Brunswick (New Jersey, almost opposite Manhattan) he stopped the clock in 50.68, a new world record by 73 hundredths and one of the best marks in the history of athletics. Although the fences are lower in the women’s category, remember that in the past Spanish Championships the men’s bronze went to Iker Alfonso with 50.56.

In this way, the current Olympic champion got even for her defeat against Muhammad three years ago and will now seek gold in the 4×400 meters with the United States, a title she won in the past World Cups and in the Games. Very close to her European record, Femke Bol was second with 52.27 and Muhammad had to settle for bronze (53.13).

Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo, one of the most elegant and versatile athletes on the planetthe thorn was removed that he had with the World Championships to hang his first gold in about 400 smooth that he dominated at will to arrive trotting with 49.11 (best universal mark of the year), followed by the Dominican Marileidy Paulino (49.60) and the Barbadian Sada Williams (49.75) , who relegated the Dutch Lieke Klaver to fourth place (50.33).

Endowed with unique physical and technical conditions at 185 centimeters tall, the Caribbean woman has won the title in the lap of the track in the last two Games, but in the World Cups she had been second in Beijing’15, third in London’17 (in 200) and second three years ago in Doha. By the way, she is determined to compete in the double hectometer for the World Championships in Budapest next year and the Games in Paris in 2024.

With disappointing marks in the return of the great South African Wayde Van Niekerk to a final after his ordeal of injuries and after falling in the semis at the Tokyo Games, the American Michael Norman prevailed after an agonizing final stretch stopping the clock in 44.29 and he cried without a doubt remembering the injury he suffered three years ago a few days before the last World Cup when he was the favorite. It was the worst mark since Kirani James won in Daegu in 2011 with 44.60.

Precisely the man from Granada achieved his fourth World Cup medal when it was silver with 44.48 and the British European champion Matthew Hudson-Smith celebrated the bronze as if it were a gold (44.66). The other great winner was Van Niekerk, who fought for the podium until the last meters to finish fifth with 44.97, very far from the sidereal world record that he achieved six years ago in Rio (43.03). Despite this, the South African has returned to his 30 years after an ordeal and this is great news for athletics.

The day marked the premiere in Eugene of one of the great stars of universal athletics, an Armand Duplantis who only needed two jumps to the first to access the final in pole vault (5.65 and 5.75). His great rival, the American Chris Nilsen and the German Oleg Zernikel, also passed with sufficiency, while the Brazilian Olympic champion Thiago Braz six years ago and the Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie needed three attempts over 5.65 meters).

Another important moment of the day was the three women’s semifinals of 800 meters and the truth is that the favorites showed an excellent image to promise battle in the grand final. Namely, American Olympic prodigy champion and heavy favorite Athing Mu (1:58.12), her compatriot Ajee Wilson (1:59.97), the great British Keely Hodgkinson (1:58.81), the Ethiopian Diribe Weltejo (1:58.16) and the Jamaican Natoya Goule (1:58.73). The current champion, the Ugandan Halimah Naakaji (eighth in the third series with 2:01.05), was left out.

The other final of the day was a javelin that did not raise its head in the women’s category and in which Mercedes Chilla from Jerez would have been silver with her historic Spanish record (64.20). Australian Keisey-Lee Barber revalidated the title achieved three years ago with the best universal throw of the year (66.91), followed by the American Kara Winger with the cruciate ligaments of her left knee torn in an amazing milestone (64.05 in the sixth round) and the Japanese Haruka Kitaguchi (63.27 also in the final round). Chinese Olympic champion Shiying Liu missed the podium by two centimeters (63.25).