Dalilah Muhammed, the ace American sprinter, broke one of the longest-standing records in women’s track and field on Sunday, during the 2019 USATF Outdoor Championships. On a rain-drenched track of Des Moines Drake Stadium, Iowa, the 29-year-old sprinter won the 400m hurdles in a breathtaking manner. Dalilah clocked a total time of 52.20 sec, slicing down more than one-tenth of a second from the previous record of 52.43 sec, set by Russia’s Yuliya Pechonika.
WORLD RECORD!!
52.20 from Dalilah Muhammad to win the 400m hurdles at the US Championships.
(pending ratification) pic.twitter.com/ndSP2h4mW1
— IAAF (@iaaforg) July 29, 2019
Breaking the world record of sixteen years, set in 2003, the 2016 Olympic champion is the second American woman after Kim Batten, who set her mark in the year 1995. On her double victory, Dalilah shared a long note on her social media handle thanking her coach for his relentless efforts that helped her in setting another record. She wrote, “There’s so much I want to say and somehow I just can’t find the right words. Last nights race meant so much to me for so many reasons. Ill save that for a later day but first I must thank my coach @boogiejohnson. He’s crazy, relentless and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Thank you so much. Last night we made history! We broke the world record! #worldrecord#dalilahmuhammad #nike”.
Dalilah also congratulated other players and wished them luck for the IAAF Doha Championship this year.
Sydney McLaughlin, a 19-year-old phenom, who has set a world U20 record of 52.75 sec and was the world leader at 53.32 sec caught Muhammad from behind at the race finishing second in 52.88 seconds, while Ashley Spencer clinched the third position in 53.11 seconds.
