Sydney McLaughlin credits ‘championship coach’ Bobby Kersee in 400m triumph

EUGENE – The queen of the one-lap hurdles, Sydney McLaughlin, has staked her claim in the 400 metres flat, picking up the United States title in her new event on Saturday as she follows a path set by top coach Bobby Kersee to perfection.

She collected gold in Tokyo two years ago and sent the crowd in Eugene, Oregon, to their feet in 2022, when she took a chunk out of her own world record to win the 400m hurdles at the world championships.

And just when it looked as though she had no more accolades to collect, Kersee sent his star pupil out to conquer new territory.

The plan could scarcely have gone better, as she won the 400m at the US Track and Field Championships in Eugene in a world-leading 48.74 seconds on Saturday to qualify for the event at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary in August.

She took control of the race early on and powered away to easily beat Britton Wilson, who was second in 49.79sec. Talitha Diggs was third in 49.93sec.

“Bobby’s a championship coach. He works back from our major championships to know when we need to be ready and he’s always proven to have us ready when it matters most,” she said.

The 23-year-old would be entitled to compete in both the 400m and 400m hurdles at the world championships, with title holders earning an automatic spot but said she has “no idea” if she will attempt a double when the competition kicks off on Aug 19.

“All I know is that today is Saturday and tomorrow’s Sunday,” she said, adding that there is still work to be done to fine-tune her strategy.

“I want to continue to get better (and) put the race together properly. Once I get the front half and back half together, that’s when it happens, and I think today was (an example) of that.”

She has an eye on eventually lowering the world record of 47.60sec, set by Marita Koch of the former East Germany in 1985.

“The greats always push themselves, and I want to be one of them,” McLaughlin said of her decision to take on a new challenge in the 400m.

Athing Mu, the 800m world champion, also stepped out of her comfort zone and after a runner-up finish to Nikki Hiltz in the 1,500m, refused to rule out what would be a tough double in Budapest in less than six weeks.

Hiltz, who is openly gay and came out as transgender in 2021, used a furious final kick to win in 4min 3.10sec, while Mu was second in a personal-best 4:03.44 and Cory McGee was third in 4:03.48.

A day after her emotional 100m triumph, Sha’Carri Richardson led the 200m heats with a sizzling wind-aided 21.61sec.

It was the fastest time in the world in 2023 in all conditions, with the 21.91sec of St Lucia’s Julien Alfred in April the fastest with a legal wind.

Over in Kingston, Shericka Jackson stayed on course to win a women’s sprint double at the Jamaican Athletics Championships on Saturday, advancing to the 200m final by clocking 22.88sec to finish 0.04sec behind Shashalee Forbes in her heat.

Jackson had just stunned the National Stadium on Friday with a personal-best and world-leading 10.65sec to

win the 100m in the fifth-fastest time recorded

.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce had the fastest time in the round when she won her heat in an impressive 22.39sec, after sitting out the 100m as she has a wild card for the world championships.

Meanwhile, in Manchester, Dina Asher-Smith, the 2019 world champion in the 200m, won the women’s 100m, which was delayed by almost 30 minutes, in 11.06sec.

“It has been a very British day, a very northern day,” the 27-year-old said of racing in a torrential downpour at the UK Athletics Championships. “Welcome to the north of England!

“But, for me, it is all about performing irrespective of everything, and being ready for anything... Today’s priority was to book my place on the plane (to Hungary).” REUTERS, AFP