New York
Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad smashed the longstanding women´s 400m hurdles world record here Sunday, clocking 52.20sec with a superb display at the US Track and Field Championships.
Muhammad, gold medallist at the Rio de Janeiro Games, shattered the previous best of 52.34 set by Russia´s Yuliya Pechonkina in 2003.
‘I´m just shocked,’ Muhammad said afterwards. ‘My coach kept telling me (the record) was there. I just had to trust that and go for it.
‘I wanted it so bad I knew I had to go out there and prove myself.’
With puddles of water on the Drake Stadium track after showers earlier in the afternoon, the 29-year-old Muhammad set a blistering pace from the outset, and hit the final straight with a clear lead from rising star Sydney McLaughlin.
McLaughlin, who had beaten Muhammad in the final few strides of this season´s Oslo Diamond League meeting, never looked like closing the gap as the New Yorker powered home.
McLaughlin finished second in 52.88sec with Ashley Spencer third in 53.11.—Agencies
