25-year-old track athlete Sydney McLaughlin was awarded Female Track Athlete of the Year for 2024 – and for good cause. This past Olympics, McLaughlin broke the world record in Paris in the 400-meter hurdle event. However, breaking the world record is not an uncommon event for McLaughlin. Including her record in Paris, McLaughlin has broken the world record in the 400m hurdles six times. Finishing the full lap with 10 evenly spaced 30 inch hurdles in 50.37 seconds at Paris, McLaughlin has cut off 1.53 seconds from her first record in this event in June of 2021.
Not only did McLaughlin go home with a gold in the 400m hurdles, but also a gold and new American record in the 4x400m relay. McLaughlin ran a split of 47.70 seconds to add to her teammates’ 49.50 (Shamier Little), 49.30 (Gabby Thomas), and 48.77 (Alexis Holmes). Running a blistering time of 3 minutes and 15.27 seconds, the team missed the world record (set in 1988) of 3 minutes 15.17 seconds by a mere tenth of a second. Overall, McLaughlin’s athletic achievements prove how much she deserves this award.
