After having Muhammad set world all-time marks against her twice in 2019, McLaughlin turns the tables by becoming first female athlete to eclipse 52-second barrier; Mu takes down 1996 meet record in 800 and Kunz improves by 550 points to capture heptathlon title in great battle with Williams and Bougard 

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The United States Olympic Team Trials began with a spectacular shot put showcase from Ryan Crouser and ended nine days later with the greatest women’s 400-meter hurdles performance in history in another exceptional chapter involving the two fastest all-time athletes in Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad.

Only this time, it was McLaughlin who produced the world record Sunday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., clocking 51.90 seconds to not only prevail in their first head-to-head matchup in 633 days, but also lowering the mark of 52.16 achieved by Muhammad at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

BUILDING THE OLYMPIC TEAM

“Oh my gosh. It’s one of those moments that you dream about and think about and you play it in your head about when you’re going to be able to put it together,” said McLaughlin, who ran 52.23 to secure a silver medal in Doha.

“I knew from the moment I woke up today that it was just going to be a great day. I think just trusting that process was the final, ‘I did it’ moment, and I’m going to cherish it for the rest of my life.”

Muhammad clocked 52.42 to place second, with fellow USC alumni Anna Cockrell – the reigning NCAA Division 1 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles champion – running a lifetime-best 53.70 to take third and also qualify for Tokyo with two athletes who also represented the U.S. in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

Muhammad set an aggressive early pace and led through eight hurdles, but McLaughlin learned from past matchups at the 2019 U.S. Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, as well as the World final, and was able to pull even going over the ninth hurdle, before relying on a final surge to pull away from the reigning Olympic champion and World gold medalist.

“I think great competition always pushes you, and it really helps to have such an amazing camp of women in the U.S. to be able to push each other to get those kinds of times,” McLaughlin said. “This year, just the way that my training has been going, we were able to put one together, and I’m really grateful for that. I look forward to seeing what the future holds.

“It’s an honor. So many amazing women have come before me, so many amazing women will come after me, and I just want to be able to leave my mark and be a part of such an amazing sport. It doesn’t last forever, and the glory is not mine.”

Muhammad, who overcame COVID-19 earlier in the year in addition to multiple injuries in order to return to the Trials, knew her record might be in jeopardy in Oregon after McLaughlin ran 52.83 on June 6, before looking to be in complete control through the first two rounds in the days prior to Sunday’s final.

“I definitely saw it coming. She looked so good during the rounds, so it was definitely just a matter of time. I definitely knew she was capable of it, so yes, I absolutely saw it coming,” Muhammad said. “It definitely makes it exciting for the fans, but it makes it nerve-racking for me. It’s definitely fun to be part of history and to be part of changing the women’s 400-meter hurdles, so I definitely think more is in store for me and I definitely think Tokyo will be a good race.”

McLaughlin joined Muhammad and Kim Batten, who ran 52.61 in 1995, as the only American female competitors to achieve the 400 hurdles world record.

“Iron sharpens iron. People can call it whatever they want to call it. It’s two great athletes pushing each other to be better,” McLaughlin said. “There’s no animosity. There’s no hard feelings. It’s just two people trying to be their best. We wouldn’t be able to have these world records go back and forth without one another.”

Athing Mu, who spent one year at Texas A&M before turning professional and signing with Nike at age 19, won the women’s 800-meter final in a personal-best 1:56.07, the second-fastest performance in U.S. history behind only the 2017 American record 1:55.61 achieved by Ajee’ Wilson, who took third Sunday in 1:58.39.

Raevyn Rogers, a former Oregon standout and reigning World silver medalist, placed second in 1:57.66.

“I wanted to break some record. Being able to PR was already great, but being able to do that, 25 years is a really long time,” said Mu, who eclipsed the Trials record of 1:57.04 achieved in 1996 by Meredith Rainey.

“It feels awesome. I knew it was within me and it’s just great to have my name written down next to it for the next U.S. Trials to come.”

Mu also took over the world lead, eight days after Cuba’s Mary Rose Almanza ran 1:56.42 in Spain.

“I wouldn’t even call myself dominant yet, because I feel like this is my first year actually coming out here and doing my thing, actually running the way that I can run and running to all my potential, or at least a good amount of my potential,” Mu said. “My expectation was definitely to come in here and win. I wrote it down on a sticky note that I wanted to be the national champion in the 800 meters and I did it.”

Wilson needed a strong surge in the final 100 meters to rally from fifth to third to return to the Olympics, finishing just ahead of Virginia standout and reigning NCAA Division 1 outdoor champion Michaela Meyer of Virginia (1:58.55) and Nike Oregon Track Club Elite standout Chanelle Price (1:58.73), as both athletes produced personal-best performances.

Meyer became only the fifth collegiate female athlete, at any point of the year, to run sub-1:59.

Annie Kunz elevated to the No. 5 all-time American competitor in the heptathlon by scoring 6,703 points, improving on her previous-best effort from the 2019 U.S. Championships by 550 points to not only achieve the Olympic standard but prevail against the only other two U.S. athletes who entered the competition with the requisite qualification 6,420 mark to participate in Tokyo.

Nike athletes Kendell Williams (6,683 points) and Erica Bougard (6,667 points) finished second and third. The duo had combined to win the past three outdoor national titles.

“It was just so surreal. When we got the big break, I think we had about six hours before the 800 because of the heat, which honestly was a real blessing, because the heat was really brutal today. To be able to take that time and regroup and rest was really awesome. With the lights tonight and the crowd, it was a moment I will never forget,” said Kunz, who also competed for the U.S. at the World Championships in Doha.

“When it said 6,700, I think that’s when I started crying, because I honestly didn’t know that was even possible for me to score that high.

“A 500-point PR, never in a million years did I think I could score what I scored tonight, and it felt fun, and it felt easy, and hard work pays off. It really does.”

Taliyah Brooks, an ASICS professional athlete, was in second place behind Kunz following Saturday’s competition and remained within the top five entering the javelin competition, before feeling faint in the excessive heat and collapsing.

Brooks was rushed to a local medical center, then returned later in the evening to Hayward Field and petitioned the USATF Games Committee to return to the competition at night by taking three throws in the javelin, before racing the 800.

Brooks was later forced to withdraw by USATF medical personnel, who did not clear her to participate in the final two events.

As a result, Miami (Florida) graduate Michelle Atherley placed fourth with a lifetime-best 6,352 points, capped by winning the 800 in 2:08.86.