Reigning Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the women's 400m at the Grand Slam Track meet in Miami in 52.07 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year

Miami Beach (United States) (AFP) - Two-time reigning Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the 400-meter hurdles with the fastest time in the world this year at the Grand Slam Track series Miami meet on Saturday.

The 25-year-old American won in 52.07 seconds with Jamaica’s Andrenette Knight second in 54.08 in a wind of 1.3 m/sec.

“There’s some stuff to clean up but I’m happy with where my fitness is,” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “For my second race of the year, I’m happy.”

McLaughlin-Levrone, who added a 2022 world title to her Olympic gold medals from Tokyo and Paris, broke her own world record last August in capturing the title in France with a run of 50.37.

American Jacory Patterson won the men’s 400m in a 2025 world-best time of 43.98 seconds with Jereem Richards from Trinidad and Tobago second in 44.32 with a 1.3 m/sec wind.

Patterson, third in the event at world indoors at Nanjing in March, set a personal best in the victory from lane eight.

“Lane helped me a lot because I didn’t feel anything,” Patterson said. “I was just able to run my own race.”

Patterson, who loads trucks on the overnight shift for a delivery service, achieved his main desire.

“The goal was to come out here and make some money so I could just focus on training and quit that job,” he said.

Winning, Patterson said, gives him “confidence, momentum. We’re going to keep working, keep that ball rolling.”

American Kenny Bednarek, the 200m runner-up at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics and 2022 world championships, captured the men’s 100 in a wind-aided 9.79 seconds with Jamaica’s Oblique Seville second in 9.84, both with a +2.4 m/sec wind assist meaning the time cannot be counted for record purposes.

“Emotions are high. I knew I was capable of winning times like this,” Bednarek said. “This was a pretty good race. I’m dangerous.”

Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent won the women’s 100 in 11.09, matching her personal best to defeat compatriot Megan Tapper by 0.24 of a second with a +0.9 m/sec wind.