Michael Johnson's GST sets up potential 400m rivalry between Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Marileidy Paulino

Olympic gold medalists Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Marieldy Paulino are set for a big clash in Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track League, starting in 2025. This comes after the GST signed Paulino to its "long sprints" roster this Tuesday.

Paulino will compete in all four meets of the GST, starting from the 2025 season. The Dominican is possibly set to run the "long sprint" events, the 200m and 400m.

The 27-year-old recently opened up about this new endeavor of her track career in a press release. She stated that she is looking to make her country proud. Paulino said,

"For me, it’s about making my country proud and continuing to raise the bar. Grand Slam Track is a new chapter for me, and I’m ready to keep showing what hard work and heart can do."

Meanwhile, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been exploring the idea of competing in the 400m and 200m dash events at the GST meets instead of her specialization, the 400m hurdles. If this is how the American's venture into GST plays out, it could set up an interesting contest between the two world-class athletes with lucrative prize money on the line.

Both Marileidy Paulino and McLaughlin-Levrone are unbeaten in individual events this season. The two also participated in numerous meets such as the Paris Olympics and USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix but competed in different events.

McLaughlin-Levrone and Paulino also ran at the 2024 Brussels Diamond League, in the 400m invitational and 400m events respectively. The American clocked 49.11s while the Dominican ran 49.45s over the distance.

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When Marileidy Paulino defeated Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the 2023 Paris Diamond League

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone after winning a gold medal in the 400m hurdles event (Image via Getty Images)

With their specializations different, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Marileidy Paulino have not gone up against each other many times. However, the 2023 Paris Diamond League saw a clash between these two athletes over the 400m distance at Stade Charlety.

The event held in June saw the Dominican athlete beat McLaughlin-Levrone quite convincingly, by a margin of 0.59 seconds. The American sprinter did manage an impressive run time of 49.71 seconds but it was not enough to beat Paulino who clocked 49.12.

This was the only face-to-face meeting between these two athletes in their careers. With the two almost certain to go up against each other in GST 2025, Sydney Mclaughline-Levrone will look to settle the score with the Dominican.