Dalilah Muhammad Wins Gold in 400m Hurdles

Dalilah Muhammad crushed the competition from beginning to end, winning a gold medal in the women’s 400m hurdles Thursday. Fellow American Ashley Spencer took home the bronze.

New York native Muhammad started off at a blistering pace, which may have warranted some concern, considering the race was 400m, but she was able to hold onto it the entire time, posting an impressive time of 53.13 seconds. Sara Petersen of Denmark picked up a bit of ground near the end as Muhammad slowed down on the final stretch, but even she finished .42 seconds behind, earning the silver medal. Spencer was right behind her, finishing only .17 seconds shy of a silver medal, taking home the bronze.

This will be the first and only event for Muhammad, but it was obviously a memorable one. At age 26, however, it’s very likely that she can come back for another chance at a medal at the 2020 games. Despite being on the international circuit for a while, she had limited experience on the podium, although she did win silver in the 2013 world championships.

She became the first American woman to ever win gold in the event. Going into the day, the American had produced five silver medalists in the event, but had never placed a woman on top of the podium. Earlier on in the day, Kerron Clement won the men’s event, giving the United States their first ever double in the event in Olympic history. The win also made it that Americans have now won every single Olympic track event that uses starting blocks.

The finish punctuated a fantastic finish for the Americans in hurdles. After a historically disappointing finish in the 110m hurdles, which saw the men left off of the podium for the first time in Olympic history, the women swept the 100m race. Clement and Muhammad then ended it with 400m golds, along with Spencer’s bronze. America’s bright future in the event also debuted in Rio, in the form of high-schooler Sydney McLaughlin, who finished just short of qualifying for the event final.