“Iron sharpens iron,” Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone had said ahead of her epic showdown with arch-rival, Femke Bol from the Netherlands, in the 400m hurdles final in the 2024 Olympics.

While Bol already dazzled the crowds with a gold medal win in the 4×400-meter mixed relay, facing Sydney is no cakewalk. After all, the 25-year-old has lowered the 400mH World record a staggering five times to date. The last one at the US Olympic trials is still fresh in everyone’s mind. And Femke Bol’s coach Laurent Meuwly factored that aspect during the recent episode of the World Athletics Official Podcast, aired on August 7.

Hosted by Sanya Richards-Ross and Greg Rutherford, Sanya prompted Meuwly to predict the podium finishers in the 400-meter hurdles, scheduled for the next day. The coach predicted, “I think in third position [Rushell] Clayton, then I think second Sydney and first Bol.” But the most intriguing part of the conversation came when Sanya expressed her excitement, saying, “What I’m most excited about is that I think we may see these two women go under 50 seconds.”

Meuwly responded, “If it’s the podium I predict, it’s not gonna be under 50 seconds. No, that’s interesting. I think if it’s under 50 seconds, then Sydney is winning.” It seems Bol and her team are already feeling the jitters…

UPDATE: Meuwly’s prediction came out to be partly correct. The time did not go under 50. But, despite that, Sydney reigned supreme with one more World record clocking 50.37, which placed her way beyond her rivals. Clayton did not reach the podium as the US’ Anna Cockrell claimed silver (51.87), while Femke Bol had to be content with bronze with a rather disappointing time of  52.15.

This once again proved why Meuwly had placed Sydney on a high pedestal. With that, let us take a look at how Sydney has destroyed the field in her record-making (or we should say record-breaking?) spree that started at the 2021 US Olympic trials.

• 51.90 / 2021 US Olympic trials (world record)
• 51.46 / 2021 Tokyo Olympics (world record)
• 51.41 / 2022 USATF Championships (world record)
• 50.68 / 2022 world championships (world record)
• 50.65 / 2024 US Olympic trials (world record)
• 50.37 / 2024 Paris Olympics (world record)

Interestingly, it seems that Sydney has made it a habit to excel in wherever she sets her foot. On May 18, she stunned everyone with a blistering victory in the 200m race at the LA Grand Prix. On the way, she pulled off a new personal best time of 22.07 seconds, merely five-hundredths of a second away from the world lead. You might get the gravity of the achievement if you take a look at the depth of the field the race had.

Sydney snubbed Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Gabby Thomas, double relay world champion Abby Steiner, and 2024 Olympic 200m bronze medalist Brittany Brown. Interestingly, this result had made Sydney eligible for the 200m trials. But she did not exercise the opportunity. Why? The answer probably will tell you the reason for Sydney’s dominance.

Is Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s single-track strategy the key to her success?

Femke Bol and Sydney McLaughlin Levrone are quite different in their approaches. Sydney appears to be fully focused on the 400-meter hurdles, with no involvement in other events like the 4x100m or the 400m. This single-minded dedication might have had a huge role to play in her excellence.

When Sydney won the 200m at the LA Grand Prix, she was happy with her performance. But at the same time, she had made it clear that did not have any intention to go for it in the Olympics. “It’s just a good gauge of where you are, and I think that’s what these are; helping me see where I’m at and what I need to improve on,” Sydney had explained her strategy.

On the other hand, Bol is open to experiment in diverse events. She came to the 400mH with a gold medal boost in Paris as part of the Dutch 4×400 meter mixed relay squad. Meuwly believes she has the potential to excel in the 800m as well and could not rule out the possibility of showing up there in the future. As of now, Femke Bol’s best in 800m is  2:19:51. Notably, the world record for the event stands at 1:53.28, set by Jarmila Kratochvílová, back in 1951.

On a separate note, Sydney now leads Bol, with a 3 – 0 record having bested her at both the Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 World Championships. In their respective heats, neither athlete was pushed to her limits, with McLaughlin-Levrone running 52.13 in the second semi-final and Bol finishing the third semi-final in 52.67. But while Sydney brought out her best self in the final, Bol faltered on this occasion.

Will she now consider a shift in strategy to focus solely on 400mH just like her opponent?

Let us know in the comments below if that strategy would work better for Femke Bol!