“Not just showing up two or three times a year” - Marliedy Paulino throws shade at Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone after 400m World Championships battle

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recently outdid Marileidy Paulino at the 2025 Tokyo World Championships to win her first 400m crown. After the race, Paulino threw shade at the American for her racing schedule.

McLaughlin-Levrone is widely known for her selective racing schedule, which often sees her compete only a handful of times before a major event like the World Championships or the Olympics. In 2025, the Olympic champion competed the 400m only four times prior to Tokyo, twice at Grand Slam Track, once at the Prefontaine Classic, and once at the USA Outdoor Championships. On the other hand, Paulino ran the distance seven times in the lead up to the World Championships.

Recently, after Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone denied Paulino a second-consecutive World title, the Dominican threw shade at her new rival, saying in a Spanish interview,

“My mind has always been strong regardless of who is there. I'm very proud of myself. I feel like I won because I've been preparing myself, running five consecutive years, running six, seven, eight races a year and that's called winning, not just showing up two or three times a year. The 2025 season taught me that I should always continue fighting, without caring who is in front, I will always see myself as a winner, even if I place second or third, I will always see myself as first.”

While McLaughlin-Levrone ran fewer 400m races than Paulino, the American did run her races faster, dipping under the 49 second mark thrice in seven races, while Paulino achieved the feat twice in ten races.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone sets new American and Championship record in 400m final

McLaughlin-Levrone at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 (Image Source: Getty)

Over the past few years, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone absolutely dominated the world of the 400m hurdles. The American set and reset the world record multiple times, while winning back-to-back Olympic gold medals.

When McLaughlin-Levrone announced earlier this year that she was switching to the 400m flat, many fans were curious to see if she could expand her dominance to a new event, while some assumed that the American would be easily outdone by the likes of reigning World and Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino and 2019 World Championships gold-medalist Salwa Eid Nasser.

However, on Thursday, 18 September, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone took to the track in Tokyo for the 400m finals and immediately proved that her greatness expands beyond one event. The 24-year-old clocked a time of 47.78s for the win, outdoing the American record she set in the semifinals, while setting a new championship record.

Edited by Riddhi Acharya