TOKYO (AP) — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone holds the world record in the 400-meter hurdles and took a giant step closer to setting it in the 400 sprint at world championships.
Would she ever consider racing in both if the schedule allowed?
“Yeah, there’s been a lot of talk of doubles,” she said Friday, after receiving the gold medal for her 47.78-second run in the 400 finals at world championships. “Is it possible is one thing, do I want to do it is another.”
The schedule at worlds this year made it unrealistic, but Olympic organizers have been known to make accommodations for marquee athletes in the past, such as Michael Johnson and Allyson Felix.
McLaughlin-Levrone trains in Los Angeles, which is the home base for her Hall of Fame coach, Bobby Kersee, who sounded like he was pushing the idea with an eye on the LA Games.
“We lost out here,” Kersee told The Associated Press, in reference to his trip to Tokyo. “Back then, in the day, they knew where the talent was and what was best for the fans, for the possibility to see greatness, and they adjusted the time schedule to it.”
If LA organizers did so, it would set up a monumental quest for McLaughlin-Levrone, whose world record in hurdles is 50.37 and who came a scant .19 short of eclipsing a 40-year-old East German world record in the 400 that has often been seen as unbreakable.
On Thursday, she and Marileidy Paulino became the first women to break 48 seconds in the race since the record in 1985.
“I think anything is possible, it’s just a matter of what are my goals, what am I setting up to do?” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “I want to put myself in the best position possible to be the best I can be. Those are two really hard events with really great fields. You cannot discredit any of those women. That’s a big undertaking.”
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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
