American Sydney McLaughlin smashed her own world record to capture the 400 metres hurdles gold medal in 51.46 seconds at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday.
Such was the 21-year-old's performance she could even afford a stutter on the penultimate hurdle before powering across the finish line to best her previous record of 51.90 set in June.
Compatriot Dalilah Muhammad, the 2019 world and 2016 Olympic champion, won silver in a personal best 51.58 and Femke Bol of the Netherlands took bronze in 52.03.
“I’m absolutely delighted. What a great race. I’m just grateful to be out here celebrating that extraordinary race and representing my country,” McLaughlin said.
It was another epic world record-breaking battle between the 21-year-old McLaughlin and the 31-year-old Muhammad.
Muhammad set a world record when she won the US trials in 2019 ahead of McLaughlin, before again beating her for gold at the 2019 World Championships in Doha in a near photo-finish with a new record.
McLaughlin avenged that loss in Oregon in June to defeat Muhammad at US trials with a devastating world record run.
McLaughlin's victory on Wednesday came after a superb tactical race which saw Muhammad make a flying start in the lane outside her rival.
Muhammad led coming off the final hurdle but McLaughlin produced a late burst of speed to claim her first gold medal.
“I saw Dalilah ahead of me with one to go," McLaughlin added. "I just thought ‘run your race’.
“The race doesn’t really start until hurdle seven. I just wanted to go out there and give it everything I had.
“It’s just about trusting your training, trusting your coach, and that will get you all the way round the track.
“I can’t really get it straight in my head yet. I’m sure I’ll process it and celebrate later.”
McLaughlin powered through in the last 20 metres to take the title and beat defending champion Muhammad having been third on the final bend.
It was McLaughlin's latest blockbuster performance since joining forces in 2020 with famed coach Bob Kersee, whom she credits with taking her to the next level after failing to reach the final at the 2016 Olympics.
"He just changed my perspective on how I approach the race, so yeah, I owe it all to him," she said. "I knew he saw something different in me than a lot of people did. He knew how to get me there.
"We practise the last 40m so many times," she added. "I knew I had to go and give it everything I had and dip at the line. Bobby was prepared for that kind of situation."
While silver was not the medal she had been hoping for, Muhammad was thrilled to have set a personal best of 52.16 and said she was proud of her team mate.
"Just like the men's race, all three of our times would have won any Olympics, any other year," she added. "I'm so proud to be part of that history and even more proud of my teammate, Sydney."
The women's showdown came a day after the men’s 400m hurdles world record tumbled on Tuesday when Karsten Warholm broke his own world record to win in 45.94s.
He took almost a second off his previous world best of 46.70s he set in Oslo at the start of July.
The USA’s Rai Benjamin (46.17s) was second with Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos (46.72s) third – with both coming inside Kevin Young’s long-standing previous world record of 46.78s the American set 29 years ago.
"I can't really get it straight in my head yet. I'm sure I'll process it and celebrate later," McLaughlin said of her record run.
McLaughlin's world record on Wednesday is just the latest in a slew of records that have tumbled on the Olympic Stadium track, which athletes at the Games have said is conducive to fast times.
UAE%20FIXTURES
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THE%20SWIMMERS
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Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
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