"Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will get job done"- Justin Gatlin backs American to achieve milestone against Salwa Eid Naser and Marileidy Paulino

Justin Gatlin believed that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone would make her mark in the 400m at the World Championships and might also break the American record, while comparing her form with Marileidy Paulino and Salwa Eid-Naser. McLaughlin-Levrone scratched her signature event, in which she broke the world record and bagged multiple wins.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone competed in the 400m flat at the Kingston stop of the Grand Slam Track League to begin her season and dominated the race. She cemented her status as a formidable contender in the aforementioned category, having won in the Prefontaine Classic and the US Track and Field Championships, trailing Salwa Eid Naser and Marileidy Paulino as the third-fastest in the 2025 season.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's promising results in the US Championships booked her seat at the 2025 World Championships, where she will face both Naser and Paulino, while vying to break Sanya Richards Ross' American record. Gatlin believed that the 26-year-old could achieve the feat, saying:

"Back to this 400m prediction, man. I think Sydney will get the job done, and where she's coming to get the job done. And I think that she's coming to look to break that American record. I think she will get that done. She already knows that it's going to be a tall order going against those two titans of ladies between Naser and Paulino. They have been tearing up the track for the last couple years. So, it ain't just a season. And it's been the last couple of years that they've been putting things together." (1:05.09 onwards)

He further analysed Naser and Paulino's chances of winning, also noting that the Paris Olympic silver medalist tends to make up in the last meters, getting an edge over her rivals.

"The chat said Naser for the win. I see Naser getting the win. I think Naser has been struggling with her race strategy and pattern against Paulino. If you see the last couple of races when they read against each other through the grand slam, that's where we get into a rhythm because we all know how she runs. She's going to run that same rhythm from the gun. Bow, she's just gonna go like a little motor, and then she gets to the last 100 to the last 70 meters of that run."

About Paulino, Gatlin discussed her way of covering more ground and taking longer steps. Although he kept the Nigerian-born Bahraini on top and the Dominican on the silver podium.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone revealed her chances of competing in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships - (Source: Getty)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke her world record for the first time at the 2021 Olympic trials and again at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, lowering the record four times in 13 months. She further proved her prowess at the 2024 Paris Olympics, breaking the 400m hurdles world record for the sixth time.

In a recent episode of the Olympics podcast, the 26-year-old shared that she has plans of competing in front of her home crowd, but she wishes not to give much thought to it now. She would rather take one step at a time and move towards her goal.

"I think LA is always at the back of my mind. I think it's hard to escape it, especially when I live there. But you know, it's something that I need to keep in the back of my mind...we got to take one year at a time, one day at a time, one step at a time. But just keeping that, you know, in the back of my mind keeps me for sure looking toward it.."

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was nominated for the Best Athlete for the ESPYs and Sportswoman of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards, following her Paris success.