The world 400m hurdles record-holder and multiple Olympic champion won’t be part of the main Diamond League programme but will end her season in the Belgian capital
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will race over 200m and 400m in Brussels but won’t be involved in the main Diamond League programme itself.
Memorial Van Damme meets organisers have added “two special races” to their schedule so that they can “honour Sydney’s remarkable achievements, including her unforgettable 400m hurdles world record in Paris”.
Those 400m and 200m events will occur on September 13 and September 14 respectively.
Earlier this week, the Brussels Diamond League announced that McLaughlin-Levrone was competing in the Belgian capital.
However, the meet wasn’t explicit on whether she would be involved in the pre-Diamond League events or the main programme itself.
For the 25-year-old to have received a global wild card for the main programme, rules stipulated that she had to take part in a Diamond League race this season.
McLaughlin-Levrone hasn’t competed at a Diamond League since last July, when she clocked 49.71 over 400m in Paris.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (Getty)
That led to Diamond League CEO Petr Stastny stating that she was “ineligible” to race in the official 200m and 400m races.
To clarify the situation, Memorial Van Damme has now stated: “To avoid any confusion or misunderstanding, we do confirm that 400m hurdles Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will be competing at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme, but not as part of the Wanda Diamond League Final races.”
It means that McLaughlin-Levrone will get a chance to showcase her incredible speed over the flat 200m and 400m.
The US athlete claimed her second Olympic 400m hurdles gold medal in Paris—breaking her own world record with 50.37—and was also part of the US women’s 4x400m team that stood on the top of the podium.
Even though she has predominantly focused on the hurdles regarding major championships, McLaughlin-Levrone is also the second fastest US athlete over one lap, courtesy of the 48.74 she ran at Hayward Field last July.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (Getty)
That also currently puts her 12th on the 400m all-time list and if she does go any faster, then Sanya Richards-Ross’s US record of 48.70 will surely go.
McLaughlin-Levrone has a best of 22.07 in the 200m and she set that in Los Angeles back in May.
With the meet in Brussels taking place over two days, it gives the US athlete and others a chance to double up over certain events during the weekend.
Non-Diamond League races usually have weaker fields, however, so it will be intriguing to see who the organisers put in the fields.
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