Sydney McLaughlin breaks her own 400-meter hurdles world record

American runner Sydney McLaughlin broke her own 400-meter hurdles world record to take gold on Friday night at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon

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She blazed to a time of 50.68 seconds, beating her previous record time of 51.41, which she set at the US Championships last month.

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It marks the fourth time this year that the Olympic champion has broken the 400-meter hurdles world record.

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McLaughlin charged past her competitors to take an early lead, beating Dutch runner Femke Bol and former world champion Dalilah Muhammad, who claimed silver and bronze in 52.27 and 53.13 respectively.

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McLaughlin's supreme performance marked a series of record-breaking runs for the American in the past year.

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She ran an astonishing 51.90 seconds in the 400m hurdles at the US Olympic Trials last summer, according to the World Athletics website.

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McLaughlin then set another world record and won gold with a run of 51.46 seconds at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

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McLaughlin became the first woman to finish the 400m hurdle event in under 51 seconds.

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"The time is absolutely amazing and the sport is getting faster and faster," she said after the race, according to the World Athletics website. "Just figuring out what barriers can be broken. I only get faster from here.

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