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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone became the first woman in nearly 40 years to crack 48 seconds in the 400 meters Thursday, running 47.78 in a historically fast one-lap race at the world championships.

Pushed by second-place finisher Marileidy Paulino, who clocked a 47.98 of he own on the rain-slickened track in Tokyo, McLaughlin-Levrone captured her first global title in the 400 flat after dominating the hurdles for the last four years.

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The second and third-fastest times in history in this race trail only the 47.60 by East Germany's Marita Koch, set Oct. 6, 1985 — one of the last remaining vestiges in track from an Eastern Bloc doping system that was exposed years after it ended.

Thir

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