When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol eyeball one another in the bowels of the Stade de France before the Olympic 400m hurdles final – and, barring injury or illness, there is zero doubt both will be there – it will be the first time since 2022 that two of the sport’s greatest talents have clashed.
Caused in equal parts by injury, differing priorities and vastly contrasting race schedules, the rareness of their encounters has only served to heighten anticipation for one of the showdowns of the Olympics. Two 24-year-old (at least, until McLaughlin-Levrone’s birthday on the eve of the Olympic final) generational talents from either side of the Atlantic bestowed on the same era.
