Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Tara Davis-Woodhall's Gold Medals Highlight Banner Day for U.S. Track & Field

SAINT-DENIS, France — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Tara Davis-Woodhall celebrated gold medals on Thursday evening swaddled in American flags and sporting crowns – McLaughlin-Levrone a tiara and Davis-Woodhall a stars and stripes cowboy hat.

McLaughlin-Levrone broke her own world record in the 400-meter hurdles, beating out Femke Bol of the Netherlands and USA’s own Anna Cockrell, with a time of 50.36 seconds. The tiara came from her sister-in-law, who McLaughlin-Levrone assumed was joking when she said she’d bring it to Paris.

Davis-Woodhall grabbed her first Olympic gold medal with her 7.10m (23 feet, 3 inch) jump in the long jump, and celebrated with a cowboy hat as an homage to her college, the University of Texas.

Team USA added another bronze with Jasmine Moore medaling in the long jump, and a silver from Cockrell’s personal best showing in the 400m hurdles, finishing second to McLaughlin-Levrone in 51.87 seconds. 

McLaughlin-Levrone, the first woman to break both the 52-second and 51-second barriers in the 400m hurdles, had broken the world record four times over the span of 13 months. The first time came in June 2021, when she broke the 52-second barrier with a time of 51.9 seconds. The second time came again that same year at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 when she defeated the previous gold medalist, Delilah Muhammad, by finishing in 51.46 seconds.

She broke her own world record at U.S. Olympic Trials in June of 2024 with a time of 50.65 seconds – the fifth time she would break a world record in the same event.

Now, she’s done it a sixth time. 

She doesn’t need crowd energy to rally the mental fortitude to trudge on at top speed over 400 meters. McLaughlin-Levrone’s Tokyo victory came in a near-empty stadium during the COVID-19 pandemic.

McLaughlin-Levrone’s improvement over short periods of time is stunning. She shaved nearly 1.5 seconds off her time in little more than three years, and Wednesday was her 25th birthday.

After skating past the 52- and 51-second marks, McLaughlin-Levrone has a chance to do the unthinkable.

“To be honest with you, there's a few things I feel like I could have cleaned up,” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “But when you're in the moment, you're not really thinking about all of that…When I crossed the line I was definitely grateful for that time. I was hoping it was a little faster, but like I said, I’m sure there’s some things in the middle that we can clean up.”

Smoothing out the middle of her race will be key if McLaughlin-Levrone intends to pursue the 49-second barrier, which she’s stated is an ambition of hers.

“I do think 49 is possible and I do think the talent in front of you can do that,” McLaughlin-Levrone said in a press conference following Thursday’s session of competition. “…I don’t know when it’s possible but it’s out there for sure.”

Davis-Woodhall primed the crowd with rhythmic claps before streaking down the runway and launching herself into her jump. Her first attempt of the evening was 6.93-meters (22 feet, 8 inches) – a great jump for her opening attempt in an Olympic final, and she gave up over 10cm to the board.

Moore bounded down the same runway, launching and sailing in the air a fraction of a second longer than Davis-Woodhall, and with her toe at the very edge of the board, leapt 6.96m (22 feet, 9.5 inches).

The battle for gold was on, and it was between two Americans.

Davis-Woodhall soared to a 7.05m (23 feet, 1 inch) mark on her second attempt, placing herself back at the front of the field, and improved it to 7.10m (23 feet, 3 inches) with her third. Moore’s distance didn’t improve over her remaining five jumps, but Germany’s Malaika Mihambo landed a 6.98m (22 feet, 10.5 inches) with her fifth attempt to bump Moore from second place.

The results were final – Davis-Woodhall gold, Mihambo silver, and Moore bronze – but Davis-Woodhall had one jump remaining. She took the victory leap, launching herself 6.68m (21 feet, 11 inches) before she fully realized she’d won Olympic gold.

“I started track when I was four years old,” Davis-Woodhall said. “My first Olympics were the Beijing Olympics and that’s when I first watched. I had no idea was going on, but I saw these guys drumming. And I was like, ‘Whoa, that's cool.’ Then I saw gymnastics and I was like, ‘Yeah, that's where I want to be. Not a gymnast, but a track athlete.’ And Olympic gold has always been my my dream.”

As it set in, Davis-Woodhall rose from the sand, shock in her eyes and on her face, and fell backwards into the pit, celebratory sand-angels to follow. Rising from the sand, she drew from an energy reserve only allotted to new Olympic champions, and Davis-Woodhall jumped again.

This time, she jumped into the arms of her husband, two-time (soon to be three-time) Paralympian Hunter Woodhall. The jump pit's dampened sand began smearing onto his “Team Tara” t-shirt. But they didn't care.

“It's been tough but I never let anything get me down,” Davis-Woodhall said. “I tried so hard to just keep on being positive this year and keep on being motivated, and that motivation turned into manifestation and manifestation turned into reality. And reality is I'm an Olympic gold medalist.

”Madie Chandler is writing for Team USA as a graduate student in the Sports Capital Journalism Program at Indiana University Indianapolis.