Overview

• The American set a world championship record of 47.78 in rainy Tokyo, becoming the first woman in nearly 40 years to run under 48 seconds.
• Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino took silver in a Dominican Republic record of 47.98, with Salwa Eid Naser earning bronze in 48.19.
• World Athletics noted it was the first time two women have broken 48 seconds in the same 400m race.
• McLaughlin-Levrone had already lowered the U.S. record to 48.29 in the semifinals, continuing a season focused on the flat 400 after years dominating the 400m hurdles (world record 50.37).
• Marita Koch’s 47.60 from 1985 remains the world record and is widely viewed through the lens of East Germany’s state-run doping program.