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All eyes will be on Sydney McLaughlin as she aims to win the Tokyo Olympics 2020 gold medal in the 400m women's hurdles. Historically, track and field events at any Olympic Games have attracted more attention and headlines than most other events.
With athletes like Usain Bolt, Mo Farah, Sergei Bubka and Yelena Isinbayeva having kept fans and spectators on the edge of their seats in the past, the same can be expected from the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
READ: World records broken at US Olympic Track and Field Trials 2021
The women’s hurdles at Tokyo will be one of the events to watch. With Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad, Femke Bol competing — the event will witness some of the best hurdlers in the world vying for the coveted Olympic title.
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On that note, here we take a look at the top five female hurdlers to watch in the 400m women’s hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics.
#1 Sydney McLaughlin
The US track and field star Sydney McLaughlin recently broke the world record at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Not only that, McLaughlin finished ahead of 2016 Rio Olympic gold medalist and world champion Dalilah Muhammad to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
McLaughlin also won a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships, where she lost to Dalilah Muhammad. The new world record holder had been chasing Muhammad for the last couple of years and finally managed to not only beat her but set a new world record.
After her victory at Hayward Field, Sydney McLaughlin was quoted by the NBC as saying:
“All of the glory to God. Honestly this season, working with my new coach and new support system is truly about faith and trusting the process.”
Sydney McLaughlin is now the first female athlete to reach the sub-52 second mark in 400m hurdles. She registered a time of 51.90 seconds at the US Olympic track and field trials.
#2 Femke Bol
At the Stockholm Diamond League, Netherlands’ Femke Bol became the latest athlete to grab headlines when she registered the fourth-fastest time in women’s 400m hurdles. Femke Bol crossed the finish line in 52.38 seconds.
Speaking about chasing Sydney McLaughlin’s record, Femke Bol was quoted by Insidethegames as saying:
"It would be good to be able to have someone to chase so I can get closer to that sub-52 mark.”
But the 21-year-old Dutchwoman was happy and excited with her performance, having come close to the European record of Yulina Pechonkina. Pechonkina is the third-fastest in the list with 52.34, with the Russian registering it in 2003.
Femke Bol was quoted as saying by Athletics Weekly:
“I’m amazed, I’m so happy! I was one second off my PB and I’m already running PBs. I think running PBs is going to stop for now, but I hope to keep on getting close to this time. I can’t believe it! In two days, I have another competition in Hungary with the same field so it will be exciting.”
Femke Bol won the gold medal in March at the European Indoor Championships. She was also part of the gold medal-winning 4x400m relay team at the same event in Torun, Poland.
#3 Dalilah Muhammad
Before Sydney McLaughlin broke her record, Dalilah Muhammad was the world record holder in 400m hurdles. That’s not all, Muhammad is one of the two female 400m hurdlers in history to have won Olympic gold, World Championships gold and hold the world record at the same time. British athlete Sally Gunnell won the gold at the 1992 Barcelona Games, won the gold at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart and set the-then world record time of 52.74 seconds.
Dalilah Muhammad will join Sydney McLaughlin and Anna Cockrell at the Tokyo Olympics in the women’s 400m hurdles. Despite not getting first position at the US Trials at Hayward Field, Muhammad registered her season’s best time of 52.42 seconds while coming second. And that gives the US contingent hope that the Rio Games gold medalist can get another medal at Tokyo.
