McLaughlin-Levrone cracks 48 seconds in historically fast 400 at the worlds

TOKYO (AP) — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone became the first woman in nearly 40 years to crack 48 seconds in the 400 meters Thursday, achieving 47.78 in an historically fast one-lap race at the world championships.

McLaughlin-Levrone had company. Second-place finisher Marileidy Paulino clocked 47.98 on the rain-slickened track in Tokyo.

The second and third-fastest times in history trailed only the 47.60 by East Germany's Marita Koch in 1985 — one of the last remaining vestiges of an Eastern Bloc doping system that was exposed years after it ended.

When she crossed the line, McLaughlin-Levrone, who moved over from the hurdles to see what she could do in the 400 flat race, looked over to the clock then put her hands on her head in apparent shock.

In the lead-up to worlds, McLaughlin-Levrone