TOKYO – Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone again smashed the American record in the women's 400 and ran the second fastest time in history, a 47.78 on a rain-soaked oval at National Stadium that gave her gold and narrowly missed the legendary world record of 47.60 that was set 40 years ago.
All eyes were on McLaughlin-Levrone in lane five as she lined up against reigning Olympic and world champion Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic and 2019 world champion Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain. The American, who has already stamped herself as the greatest 400 hurdler ever with a slew of world records and Olympic titles in 2021 and 2024, quickly took the lead, passing 100 in 11.71 with Eid Naser the next fastest at 11.84 and Paulino third in 11.92.
At the halfway mark in a blazing 22.95, McLaughlin-Levrone held a .14 margin over Paulino, and by 300 the chase for the world record was still on as she passed it in 34.87. Paulino in lane nine was giving it all she had, but McLaughlin-Levrone wouldn't be denied glory in the greatest women's medal battle ever over one lap and she crossed the line with a glance at the clock that left her almost stunned. Paulino ran the third fastest time ever, a 47.98 for silver, and Eid Naser grabbed bronze in 48.19, the No. 9 all-time performance. All eight finalists broke 50 seconds, a first in World Championships history.
Before tonight only seven American men had ever won a javelin medal at the Olympic Games or World Championships. Let's make that cozy club eight now as Curtis Thompson introduced himself with a stellar bronze medal effort of 86.67/284-4 on his opening attempt to become the first U.S. global championship medalist since Breaux Greer's 2007 bronze at Osaka. Trinidad's Keshorn Walcott added world gold to the Olympic title he won at London 13 years ago, throwing a season best 88.16/289-3, and two-time champion Anderson Peters of Grenada earned silver at 87.38/286-8.
McLaughlin-Levrone's and Thompson's performances Thursday kept Team USATF atop the medal table with 12 total, eight of them gold.
Double Paris jumps bronze medalist Jasmine Moore couldn't quite match that form in the women's triple jump final, ending up seventh with a best of 14.55/47-9 in the third round. Moore fouled her opening attempt and then had a 14.08/46-2.5 on her second try. After her top effort in the next round, Moore added jumps of 14.27/46-10 and 14.40/47-3 but couldn't squeeze into the top six to earn one last attempt. Cuba's Leyanis Perez Hernandez twice bounded 14.94/49-0.25 to take gold ahead of Olympic champion Thea LaFond of Dominica. Bronze went to world record holder Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela, the four-time champion who was returning from a ruptured Achilles.
A magical 2025 season for USATF and Diamond League champion Jacory Patterson came to a crashing halt in the final of the men's 400, where he could never really make an impression and finished seventh in 44.70. Botswana's emergence as a world power was solidified with gold for Busang Collen Kebinatshipi in a world-leading 43.53 and bronze for Bayapo Ndori in a season best 44.20. Jereem Richards of Trinidad earned silver in a national record 43.72.
Throwing down the gauntlet in the third semifinal of the men's 200, three-time defending champion Noah Lyles erupted off the turn and flew down the damp straightaway to a stunning 19.51 that was the seventh fastest time ever by an American and made him a solid favorite to retain his crown. It was by far the fastest semifinal ever at the World Championships, bettering Lyles' own 19.62 at Eugene three years ago. With all eight finalists qualifying in under 20 seconds, it was the deepest semifinal round ever at the meet.
Two-time Olympic silver medalist Kenny Bednarek left no doubt about his status in the first semi, blasting out of the blocks and powering around the bend to seize control and roll to a 19.88 victory. A tiny stumble at the start threw Courtney Lindsey off his rhythm in the second semi and he never fully recovered on the way to a 20.30 in third that ended his chances of making the final.
Sunday's 100 meter champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden set the table for a huge clash in the women's 200 final with Jamaica's two-time defending champion Shericka Jackson, winning the second semi convincingly in 22.00, .01 behind the time that gave Jackson the victory in the first semi. Anavia Battle also snagged a lane in the final with a win in the last semi, running 22.09 and passing Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith of Cote d'Ivoire in the final 20 meters.
2019 silver medalist Brittany Brown, who earned Olympic bronze at Paris last summer, was in the first semi with Jackson and Britain's emerging star Amy Hunt, placing third in a season best 22.13 to claim one of the two time qualifier spots in the final. McKenzie Long was third in the third semi in 22.48, the same time as Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas, but Strachan initially earned the final time qualifier slot by .002 seconds. A reread of both finish photos gave the duo the same time to the thousandth (22.478), advancing both for a nine-woman final.
Comeback king Donavan Brazier was in a perilous position in the second semifinal of the men's 800, stuck inside a box of runners coming off the final turn and missing his bib. Working his way up on the inside, 2019 world champion Brazier had to dig very deep to eke out a third-place finish in 1:43.82, .02 ahead of Italy's Francesco Pernici and left waiting to see if it was good enough to make the final.
It wasn't, since the third semi was even quicker, won by Spain's Mohamed Attaoui in 1:43.18 and featuring third- and fourth-place times of 1:43.72 and 1:43.80. Fourth in that semi went to American record holder Bryce Hoppel, also left out of the final despite a 1:43.92. The times by Brazier and Hoppel were both much quicker than the previous fastest non-qualifying time of 1:44.30, set at Budapest in 2023.
In her first international appearance, USATF runner-up Maggi Congdon showed no sign of nerves in the third heat of the women's 800, running calmly and comfortably on the inside near the rail through 400 in 60.24 and 600 in 1:31.75 before finishing second behind Ethiopia's Tsige Duguma in 2:01.74 to sew up a spot in the semifinal.
A faster opening pace in heat four had Sage Hurta-Klecker near the front on lap one, but she had to avoid disaster as she got tangled up with Kenya's Sara Moraa. Moraa almost went down, but Hurta-Klecker recovered and stayed in second at the bell in 58.14. From there it was safe and secure with Switzerland's Audrey Werro winning in 1:58.43 and Hurta-Klecker advancing automatically in second with the same time, .002 behind the Swiss star.
Tough qualifying parameters that had only three time qualifier berths across seven heats came into play right away for the U.S. contingent. USATF champion Roisin Willis was third at the bell in 59.37 but was in no way safe and clear. Britain's Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson led through 600 in 1:29.88 and Willis was fifth in 1:30.50, and over the final furlong that positioning stayed the same. Hodgkinson held off Morocco's Assia Raziki to win in 1:59.79, but Willis was fighting mightily to get to third, falling desperately short in fourth in 2:00.24 to set up the long wait for confirmation of advancement to the semifinal. Her wait came to a disappointing end after heat five.
With world record holder Beatrice Chebet of Kenya involved, and only eight qualifying spots available, the first heat of the women's 5000 elicited some hearty cheers from the home crowd as Nozomi Tanaka and Yuma Yamamoto went to the front and paced the leaders through the first kilometer in a respectable 2:57.28. Shelby Houlihan and Elise Cranny, the 1-2 finishers at the USATF Championships, were in the top half of the field at that point and looked comfortable.
The Japanese duo stayed in the lead through 2K in 5:59.90, but by 3K Yamamoto had dropped way back and left Tanaka at the front in 8:57.16. Houlihan was steady in eighth at 8:59.05, but Cranny was starting to show some strain in 10th. A group of seven started to ease away over the next kilo and Chebet was creeping up on the lead to sit second at 4K as Tanaka led in 11:53.82 with Houlihan fifth and less than a second back.
At the bell Tanaka and Maureen Koster of the Netherlands were 1-2 and 10,000 silver medalist Nadia Battocletti of Italy was hovering in fourth on Chebet's shoulder. Entering the final 100 Chebet pushed to the lead, and she finished the task with a 14:45.59 win ahead of Battocletti and Houlihan, who was third in 14:46.52. Tanaka also advanced to the delight of the fans, placing fifth, but Cranny was out of the frame in 10th in a season best 15:00.23.
Another home favorite, Ririka Hironaka, zipped to the lead in the second heat and was almost five seconds up on everyone at 1K in 2:55.28, and Josette Andrews was in the chase group in 13th at 3:01.75. Hironaka still led through the next kilometer in 5:53.40, 6.3 seconds ahead of the pack. At 3K Hironaka was even farther ahead, going through in 8:57.41 and eight seconds up on reigning champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, who won the 1500 two days ago. Andrews went by that point in 9:06.32 in 14th.
With a kilometer to go Hironaka's lead had dropped to under four seconds in 12:06.19 as Kipyegon started to make her final push and Agnes Ngetich of Kenya also made a significant move. Kipyegon took the lead with two laps left as Hironaka's bold gambit ended and Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay was up to fifth with Andrews one place out of the qualifying group in ninth. Tsegay had the fastest finish kick to claim the victory in 14:56.46 and all of the pre-race favorites made it through, with Andrews placing sixth in 14:57.59.
None of the three U.S. women in the high jump made it through to the final. USATF champion Vashti Cunningham, competing in her fifth World Championships at age 27, cleared 1.88/6-2 on her first attempt but couldn't get over 1.92/6-3.5 and finished 17th. Emma Gates also cleared 1.88, but on her third attempt, and was 22nd, while Sanaa Barnes made the opening height of 1.83/6-0 to place 25th.
TEAM USATF MEDALS (12)
GOLD (8)
Ryan Crouser, men's shot put (22.34/73-3.5) Mixed 4x400 relay (Bryce Deadmon, Lynna Irby-Jackson, Jenoah Mckiver, Alexis Holmes) (3:08.80, =meet record) Valarie Allman, women's discus (69.48/227-11) Tara Davis-Woodhall, women's long jump (7.13/23-4.75) Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, women's 100 (10.61, meet record) Cordell Tinch, men's 110 hurdles (12.99) Katie Moon, women's pole vault (4.90/16-0.75) Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, women's 400 (47.78)
SILVER (1)
Sandi Morris, women's pole vault (4.85/15-11)
BRONZE (3)
Noah Lyles, men's 100 (9.89) Grace Stark, women's 100 hurdles (12.34) Curtis Thompson, men's javelin (86.67/284-4)
RECORDS SET BY TEAM USATF
World
American
48.29 – Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, women's 400 47.78 – Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, women's 400
World Championships
=3:08.80 – Mixed 4x400 relay (Bryce Deadmon, Lynna Irby-Jackson, Jenoah Mckiver, Alexis Holmes) 10.61 – Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, women's 100 47.78 – Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, women's 400