Reigning Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and world champion Femke Bol set up a mouthwatering showdown after advancing to the women’s 400m hurdles final at the Paris Games on Tuesday.
United States star McLaughlin-Levrone cruised into Thursday’s final after winning her semi-final in 52.13sec at the Stade de France, finishing around 15 metres clear of France’s Louise Maraval in second.
McLaughlin-Levrone was soon joined by Dutch arch-rival Bol, who won her semi-final in a time of 52.57sec.
McLaughlin-Levrone and Bol’s clash in the hurdles is one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the Olympics, pitting the two fastest women in the history of the event against each other.
The rivals are the only two women to ever run under 51 seconds for the event.
McLaughlin-Levrone, competing in her third Olympics at the age of 24, has not lost a 400m hurdles race since winning a silver at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
Despite only limited appearances this season the Los Angeles-based star has been in blistering form, smashing her own world record with a time of 50.65sec at the US trials in Eugene in June.
McLaughlin-Levrone looked imperious in Tuesday’s semi-final, accelerating quickly out of the blocks before building a hefty lead coming off the final bend and cruising home.
Bol, who anchored the Netherlands to 4×400 mixed relay gold on Saturday, was similarly dominant in her semi-final, running down the USA’s Anna Cockrell in the lane outside her before coasting to victory.
The Dutchwoman, a bronze medallist in Tokyo three years ago, won gold at last year’s world championships in Budapest in the injury absence of McLaughlin-Levrone.
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