SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone emphasizes that her main competition in any race is the ten hurdles that encircle the track.

On Thursday night, McLaughlin-Levrone once again broke her own world record, completing the 400-meter hurdles in 50.

37 seconds to defend her Olympic title.

The 25-year-old American has now lowered the world record six times.

She led around the corner and breezed down the home stretch to beat her teammate Anna Cockrell by 1.

50 seconds.

“Obviously, there are people next to you and they’re going to push you, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t focus on the barriers in front of you,” McLaughlin-Levrone explained.

“That was my focus, trying to be as efficient as I could over my ten hurdles and trying to lower that time every time.

”This race was highly anticipated at the Stade de France due to the rivalry between McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol of the Netherlands.

Cockrell surprised everyone by finishing second, with Bol coming in third.

Bol walked down the track, shaking her head.

“I screwed it up,” Bol said.

“I’m not sure where I made the mistake.

I just got so much lactic acid with 300 meters to go.

I’m not sure why, I really have no explanation.

This is just a bad race.

”After crossing the finish line, McLaughlin-Levrone looked up at the scoreboard and gave a quick smile.

She makes breaking records look almost effortless.

While she knows there are things she can improve, she is getting closer to a perfect race—and to breaking into the 49-second territory.

“It’s just building up that capacity in your legs to handle going that fast,” said McLaughlin-Levrone, who married Andre Levrone Jr.

, a former NFL football player, in 2022.

McLaughlin-Levrone has a 3-0 record in races against Bol.

She beat Bol, the standout from the Netherlands, at the Tokyo Games in 2021 (Bol finished third) and again a year later at the world championships in Oregon.

McLaughlin-Levrone was injured last season and didn’t race when the world championships were in Budapest.

This opened the door for Bol to win her first world crown.

“I was like, ‘You are amazing,’” she said.

“She just started the hurdles not too long ago, so I think she’s doing great.

”“I’ve always called myself a showtime girl,” Cockrell said.

“When the lights come on, I come out to play.

” Coached by Bobby Kersee, McLaughlin-Levrone has been steadily building toward this moment for two years, mostly out of the spotlight.

She’s been racing in sprints at 200 and 400 meters and also in the short hurdles—100 meters, and 60 meters indoors—to gain experience, speed, and technique.

“I knew this was possible,” said McLaughlin-Levrone, who celebrated her birthday Wednesday.

“I knew it was probably going to take a world record to win this race.

” “I just was hoping it would be a race worthy of holding (the tiara) up,” McLaughlin-Levrone joked.

She burst onto the scene as a teenager, the runner with the unique ability to juggle while riding a unicycle.

She competed in the 2016 Olympics at age 17.

The sprinter from New Jersey who went to the University of Kentucky and now lives in Los Angeles also has a gold medal from Tokyo as part of the women’s 4x400 relay.