(Reuters) – Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ramped up preparations for a title defence at this 12 months’s Paris Video games by working a world-leading time of 52.70 seconds on Friday in her first 400 metres hurdles race in over a 12 months.
McLaughlin-Levrone, the world document holder within the 400 hurdles, final competed within the occasion in August 2022.
The 24-year-old displayed no indicators of rust on the Edwin Moses Traditional in Atlanta, as she effortlessly surged previous her opponents to higher Jamaican Rushell Clayton’s earlier season-leading mark of 53.72 by over a second.
“It’s a progression, you know. Shaking the rust off after two years – I’ll take a 52.7,” McLaughlin-Levrone stated after the race.
“There are things to work on and I haven’t had much hurdle practice, so there’s things to improve.”
McLaughlin-Levrone, who missed final 12 months’s World Championships attributable to a knee harm, has been competing completely in the US within the build-up to this month’s U.S. Olympic Workforce Trials.
“I love racing and I love Europe, but I think in a year like this and coming back from injury last year I just wanted to be safe,” McLaughlin-Levrone stated.
“Travel can take a lot out of the body, and hopefully I can get some more races, but I’m just playing it safe until I get to trials.”
