McLaughlin-Levrone Wins Tokyo 400m, Sets Championship Record

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the women's 400 meters at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Thursday, clocking 47.78 seconds to take gold and set a championship record at Japan National Stadium. The American, who earlier in the week shattered the U.S. record in the semifinals, finished ahead of Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic and world champion Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain.

McLaughlin-Levrone entered the final after running 48.29 seconds in a semifinal on Tuesday, breaking Sanya Richards-Ross's 19-year American record of 48.70. She eased up over the final meters of that race, telling reporters afterward that she had not expected the time and felt it showed her fitness was in place. In Tokyo she improved on that mark by nearly half a second, edging to within 0.18 of Marita Koch's long-standing world record of 47.60 set in 1985.

Paulino took silver in 47.98 seconds, a national record that moves her to third on the all-time list, and Naser claimed bronze in 48.19, her fastest time of the season. The final produced one of the deepest fields in history, with multiple runners posting times that rank among the fastest ever. The race was run in wet...