The wait had been well worth the reward for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. 

The reigning Olympic champion and undisputed queen of the 400 meter hurdles packaged together a race worthy of her excellence on Thursday inside Stade de France, clocking a new world record of 50.37 seconds as she pulled away from the Netherlands' Femke Bol over the last curve and emboldened herself toward the finish to claim her second straight Olympic win. 

"There's a few things I feel like I could have cleaned up," McLaughlin-Levrone said afterward in the mixed zone. "But when you're in the moment, you're not really thinking about all that." 

The New Jersey legend left no doubt, re-setting her own world record by nearly 0.30 seconds. She had last set it in June at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 50.65, slicing three-hundredths off a world record time that had last fallen in 2022, in a race that also featured Bol. 

This time around, the Dutchwoman wasn't even a factor with 100 meters to go. 

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The Netherlands star faded down the stretch as U.S. challenger Anna Cockrell passed her for silver in 51.87. Cockrell's performance now sits at No. 8 all-time and moves the North Carolina native up to the position of third-best in American history, only behind McLaughlin-Levrone and Dalilah Muhammad, the World Champion in 2019.

"I'm in a little bit of shock," Cockrell said afterward in the mixed zone. "I don't know if it's from the joy or from the exhaustion, but I'm really, really happy. I'm really proud of this moment. It took a lot to get here and I'm excited to have put it all together."  

Bol, considered a willing foe to McLaughlin-Levrone heading into the final, was third in 52.15.

McLaughlin-Levrone, who turned 25 a day before her championship race, was named captain of the U.S. team leading into the Paris Olympics and was now in her third Olympic cycle after featuring in Rio as a teenager and Tokyo as a seasoned veteran. 

"I think waiting is the hardest part," McLaughlin-Levrone said of her race. "As an athlete, you're ready to go, like a car kijnd of revving, waiting to get out of the starting block. So just really focusing on myself, focusing on control, have such a deep field of women who are very talented, so there's always that anticipation." 

To many, her performance on Thursday solidified her ascendance as the greatest of all-time at the discipline. 

In Paris, McLaughlin-Levrone bided her time until the final, opening her competition on Sunday with an easy 53.60 and then following two days later with a qualifier in 52.13. 

Thursday evening's final featured a locked in McLaughlin-Levrone, her eyes focused on the line. She whispered a few words before the gun. 

She had not lost at the distance since the 2019 World Championships to Muhammad and, after focusing squarely on the 400mH to begin the 2024 season, she finished another unblemished season. 

Bol had run 50.95 seconds for 400mH in July, but she also featured for the Netherlands in the final of the mixed 4x400 on Aug. 2, clocking a split of 47.93 seconds, perhaps lending a wisp of fatigue as she looked to challenge her competitor in the final. 

By season's end, McLaughlin-Levrone's excellence will extend past the 400mH. Having run a time of 48.75 in June over the open 400m, the New Jersey native will likely end the year with a top 10 time at the distance. 

When Are The Paris 2024 Olympic Games?

The Olympics begin on July 26 and end on August 11. The track and field events will began on Aug. 1. 

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