"Weather definitely wasn't on my side today" - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone disappointed on not being able to break 400m PB at Brussels Diamond League

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has claimed that she was hoping to run a faster time after she easily took the victory in the women's 400m invitational at the Brussels Diamond League 2024. The four-time Olympic gold medalist had earlier claimed that she wanted to improve her personal bests in Brussels but wasn't able to do it because of a wet track.

McLaughlin-Levrone has literally achieved everything in the women's 400m hurdles that there's to achieve; two back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the distance, a world title, and a world record she keeps breaking and breaking.

The 25-year-old has expressed the desire to explore other events now and in her first bid to do so, she decided to compete over the 200m and the 400m at Brussels Diamond League.

Speaking ahead of her race earlier, the world record holder had claimed that she wanted to improve her personal bests over the 200m and the 400m flat races.

“My goal is to improve my personal records,” said McLaughlin-Levrone. “I started my season this spring in the 200m and 400m and now I would like to finish with them as well, assess where I stand at those distances now, after having focused a whole year on the 400m hurdles," McLaughlin-Levrone said (via Athletics Weekly)

While Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone completely dominated the 400m Invitational in Brussels, she wasn't content with her time of 49.11s. Her personal best in the distance is 48.74s and while she clocked 48.75s earlier this season, the 25-year-old would have been hoping to break the 400m American record of 48.70s.

Nonetheless, McLaughlin-Levrone added that she was happy and having fun. Speaking in a post-race interview, she said:

“I just wanted to get one more. I was hoping for a little bit faster, but I think the weather definitely wasn’t on my side today. I’m just happy to be here and get the experience racing in Europe. It’s an amazing crowd. I’m just having some fun."

Why did Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone not compete in the actual 400m Diamond League Finals?

Brussels Diamond League 2024- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone - Source: Getty

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was initially announced to compete in the Diamond League Finals over both the 100m and the 200m. However, she was later found ineligible to race in the finals as she hadn't run in any of the 14 Diamond League meets in the season which is mandatory for entry in the finals even in case of a wild card.

The organizers later announced two special races for the 25-year-old, setting up women's 400 and 200m invitational races. After securing an easy win in the 400m, McLaughlin-Levrone will now run in the 200m on 14th September to close out her season.

She has a personal best of 22.07s in the distance, and unless the weather doesn't play any spoiler, she should be able to break it.