Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone does it again - 47.78 as Paulino also breaks 48

whawha wrote:

I think she messed up in her semi final. She had the record and let it go. In the final that’s the first ever time I’ve seen her start to really tie up at the end. Her legs were dead. I hope she does a couple more 400’s this year and I think she breaks the record.
Paulino is something different. Really young. I think she’s really gassed up. From a place that would def help her in that area just like Jamaica. I figured Syd would have to run sub 48 to win and she had to do better than that. Potential wise I think Paulino actually has more than Sydney. Whether that’s from drugs or not. She’s absolutely HUGE. Her stride is insane. Plus she’s young and hungry.
Not sure how old Sydney is but I’m not sure she can hold Paulino back until after 2028. Unless Paulino pops which will never happen. Sydney will break that record tho. Shame she didn’t get some good whether she might have then.

Gotta give little Naser some credit. Much smaller but she just always has had her pace and it never seems to change. She’s a beast.

oh and the biggest winner is the fans of all female track booties everywhere.

whawha wrote:

Truth is no one cares about the distance races in the states.
Tinch winning the hurdles saved us a little face but no Holloway who might be the greatest of this era at the event. No Roberts. No Cunningham. Very disappointing. Nice to see the young guy make the finals.
the 100ms the US will never win unless we’re allowed to dope with impunity like some island country.
The women crushed it. Still a big loss there in the 110 hurdles with the big favorite.
Oh the worst thing is USA’s absolutely terrible showing in the open 400ms. What the hell is going on? I know Kenny and Lyles could probably be 43 guys but are running the 100ms. Norman falling off dramatically. Honestly we need Rai to run the open 400ms but somehow the 400hs is the bigger show with him and Karsten. Where have all the great US 400m runners gone? Botswana had three in the final and you know in the 4x4 they’ll throw Tebogo in there as well lol. No one is touching them. If we can make it close it’ll be a miracle.
the 100 is not surprising but the hurdles and 400 was bad.
shutout to the shot king Crouser and Tara Davis doing her thing. Allman in the disc. There’s another head scratcher lol why do our men’s jumpers suck lol when we dominated the long jump at least, for a long time. Great stuff tho.

just wish I knew where to watch any of this at lmao and that’s the problem with track. Casuals don’t even know it’s happening and I’m a pretty hardcore fan and I have no idea where to watch it live. I just catch the races the next day on YouTube. Lets go USA

sp2 wrote:

She's always had a big, strong, wide jaw-line. It doesn't look any different now, beyond the fact that she's obviously heavier and 'thicker' than she was in high school --like pretty much everyone else.

And she was already an epochal prodigy in junior high, for Chrissake. So if you think her performances come from 'roids, you'd probably have to figure she started on them in 5th grade or so --which seems highly doubtful.

She obviously has lots of advantages over anyone from the 70s, and even over lots of her competitors now, but we *know* for sure Koch and Krat and Bryzgina and all the rest were 'roided up the wazoo, and there's no chance in hell they would've run anything close to what they did without it. Just like the girls in 'Ma's Army.'

Of course it's *possible* Syd's on something --it's possible *anyone's* on something.

But we've got no good reason to believe that, and lots of reason to think she's one of the very greatest talents and performers there's ever been in the sport.

And yeah, the association with Kersee and his people makes me somewhat uncomfortable, too. But that doesn't prove anything, and when that's really the *only* reason we've got to doubt her, that ain't good enough.

She gets the benefit of the doubt, and all the credit she deserves for being one of the real gods of the sport for what she's accomplished.

When I and other folks suggested a couple of years ago that she *might* be capable of taking a serious run at Koch's mark, most of the guys here said that was ridiculous, and she'd never get close. Tonight makes it clear she's absolutely capable of it, and if she wanted to spend all next year just aiming for that and plan 6 or serious cracks at it, she'd very likely get it.

The same idiots said a couple years before that that she'd never crack 52 in the hurdles.

I suggested back then that she'd not only blow through 52, but it wasn't completely crazy to think she might eventually crack 51. It took her 2 or 3 years from that point, I think.

She choked in Rio. So what? She was 16 freaking years old. Since that day, I don't think she's ever had another championship performance that was less than *incredible*.

She's an all-time great among all-time greats. She's in the freaking Pantheon.

Unless there's ever some actual *evidence*, you should relish the privilege of watching her, and leave her the f*** alone.

sp2 wrote:

Skip Payless wrote:

The most important question is where does this put McLaughlin-Levrone on the list of ALL-TIME American women's sprinters? Of course she is unquestionably the greatest 400 meter hurdler, but I think everyone has a little bit more respect for the flat events. Well, now she has just demolished the American record and won perhaps the greatest women's 400 meter race of all time. With this run, she has now arguably taken the baton from the legendary Alison Felix as the most versatile sprinter ever. She needs a few more medals to pass Felix on the GOAT list, but with a world record (which I think may be inevitable at this point) and an Olympic gold in the 400, not only would she pass Felix, she'd be in FloJo territory.

She's much better than Felix. And, unlike with Sydney, there's *lots* of reason to think Flo-Jo was a flagrant drug-cheat. (Starting with her sudden severe body-change late in her career, and accompanying steep drop in times.)

Sydney's had no sudden body change, didn't grow big pecs and traps and delts all of a sudden like FloJo did, and has made slow, steady improvements over the course of 10 years.

FloJo shouldn't even be in the discussion --except maybe with a *giant* asterix, like Barry Bonds.

And Syd did what she did tonight in her *off*-event, for Chrissake.

She's the best there's ever been, and it's not all that close.

whawha wrote:

I think she messed up in her semi final. She had the record and let it go. In the final that’s the first ever time I’ve seen her start to really tie up at the end. Her legs were dead. I hope she does a couple more 400’s this year and I think she breaks the record.
Paulino is something different. Really young. I think she’s really gassed up. From a place that would def help her in that area just like Jamaica. I figured Syd would have to run sub 48 to win and she had to do better than that. Potential wise I think Paulino actually has more than Sydney. Whether that’s from drugs or not. She’s absolutely HUGE. Her stride is insane. Plus she’s young and hungry.
Not sure how old Sydney is but I’m not sure she can hold Paulino back until after 2028. Unless Paulino pops which will never happen. Sydney will break that record tho. Shame she didn’t get some good whether she might have then.

Gotta give little Naser some credit. Much smaller but she just always has had her pace and it never seems to change. She’s a beast.

oh and the biggest winner is the fans of all female track booties everywhere.