Sydney McLaughlin, 22, grew from an advertising face in Tampere to a superstar breaking world records – has an exceptional attitude towards social media

– What did I say? He’s just that good. He is just so good!

NBC Sport’s charismatic commentator Ato Boldon the glow says everything essential. Sydney McLaughlin, 22, has just crossed the finish line in an ME time of 51.41 in the women’s 400m hurdles final at the US Championships. At last, we can now talk about an exceptional athlete.

The ME time set at the end of June was already the third of his career for the American rower. He has improved his soil By Dalilah Muhammad 75 hundredths of the old ME time from 2019.

When talking about McLaughlin, the number of world records is especially deafening. For example Usain Bolt was also able to set three world records in the 100 meters.

The value of the most recent record time is enhanced by the fact that McLaughlin did it without proper medical assistance. In previous ME runs, he was overtaken by Muhammad (51.58) twice and Holland Femke Bol once (52.03). They are second and third in the all-time statistics.

Hurdling coach and closely follows international athletics Jussi Ihamäki gives an example of the importance of writing help.

– Back in the day (Gothenburg World Championships 1995) Kim Batten and Tonja Buford-Bailey both ran under the current women’s 400m hurdles ME. Only one hundredth remained between them. The mutual competition kicked both forward.

– If the conditions are only good, we can probably expect a hard time. Femke Bolkin seems to be in good shape, which kicks her forward even more, Ihamäki predicts the women’s 400 meter hurdles at the World Championships.

McLaughlin’s road to superstardom has been marked. He was known as a teenage sensation in the junior age groups. In 2016, when he was only 16 years old, he was ninth in the world rankings and competed in the Rio Olympics.

At the age of 14, he was already the second fastest in the under-20 category. After that, he dominated the youth series as he wanted. McLaughlin has no fewer than eight fastest times of all time in the under-20 series.

In 2018, McLaughlin was also a registered name in Finland. He was the advertising face of the Junior World Championships in Athletics held in Tampere.

At the time of the Games, there were banners with the image of a young woman in the streetscape of the city. However, McLaughlin never showed up. His season ended with the collegiate championships.

– He would have won the championship by far, Ihamäki believes.

Getting to the absolute top is often a grind. McLaughlin has always made the right decisions at appropriate intervals.

In high school, a teenage athlete was coached Mike McCabe. Coached famous athletes Edrick Floreal helped McLaughlin to the next level. Olympic champion by Joanna Hayes during his coaching responsibility, McLaughlin became a World Championship silver medalist in his twenties.

The last sanding has been successful Bob Kersee. Among the most famous athletes of the coaching legend are his wives Jackie Joyner-Kersee mixed Allyson Felix.

Ihamäki says that in the past there were many long coaching relationships in athletics.

– It’s always brave to change a coach. It seems that nowadays people are not so loyal to coaches anymore. At best, it works. McLaughlin has the experience of being able to change coaches and produce results all the time.

Developing into a better athlete has also required other measures. At the beginning of his professional career, McLaughlin invested heavily in social media.

For example, in 2019, he was a surprisingly followed track and field athlete on the Instagram service, even though he was not yet a star known to the general public. After the Olympic victory in Tokyo, the limit of one million followers was broken. It is top of the line among active multi-sport athletes.

Social media also has its dark side. McLaughlin has said that he silences his social media channels several weeks before each of his races.

– When you’re surrounded by a lot of external voices, it can definitely change what you’re going on internally, McLaughlin has said, according to the New York Post.

– It’s an interesting choice. I think it shows how to focus on the essentials. It speaks of exceptional talent, Ihamäki sees.

McLaughlin has spoken openly about the pressure. After the Tokyo Olympics, she burst into tears on her Instagram account about how some people had placed unreasonable expectations on her. Olympic victory in world record time was not enough for everyone.

Also Olympic champion in 100m hurdles Jasmine Camacho-Quinn has opened up about similar things. McLaughlin and Camacho-Quinn humanize elite sports.

– The pressures have been terrible for them. To an ordinary person, it may seem strange. Even though foreign top athletes win Olympic gold and feel unbeatable, they have exactly the same thoughts as Finnish athletes. They have pressure, appearance pressure and depression, Ihamäki reminds.

Olympic victory. Three world records. Overall Diamond League win. He is only 22 years old.

If the American McLaughlin achieves the world championship in front of his home crowd, it is appropriate to ask what still motivates him in the 400 meter hurdles?

The most enthusiastic US athletics journalists have speculated on a change of sport. In a smooth 400 meters, the woman’s speed characteristics would be enough for the very sharpest point.

On the other hand, athletes of different sports are motivated by the fact that they can achieve things in their sport that no one has been able to do before. For McLaughlin, that means an even dumber ME time.

At the World Championships in Oregon, it is realistic for McLaughlin to break under 51 seconds. In the future, it might be something else. Ihamäki flashes with an even wilder borderline.

– If he runs the hurdles 50.70, it could be that McLaughlin wants to run under 50 seconds.

So the time starting with 49? We are talking about the times when running for prize medals without fences!

– It sounds utopian. On the other hand, in men Karsten Warholm showed that the hurdles can be run under 46 seconds (45.94). He (McLaughlin) might think you should run under 50 seconds.

Loud talk. But as Ato Boldon said, he’s just that good.

McLaughlin will run in the semifinals of the 400-meter hurdles on Thursday at 4:15.