
The women's 400-meter record has remained steadfast for 40 years—but on Thursday, the United States's Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone came closer than any woman ever has to breaking it.
McLaughlin-Levrone ran a blistering 47.78 Thursday to win the 400-meter world title at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. That is the fastest time in the event for any woman since 1985, when East Germany's Marita Koch ran a 47.60 at the IAAF World Cup in Canberra.