US runner Dalilah Muhammad breaks 16-year-old 400m hurdles record set by Russian athlete
US sprint runner Dalilah Muhammad has shattered the world record in the women’s 400m hurdles, set by Russian track star Yuliya Pechonkina 16 years ago.
Performing on the final day of the US National Championships in Iowa, the 29-year-old runner clocked in a time of 52.20 seconds taking 0.17 seconds off the record set by Pechonkina in 2003.
“I’m just shocked,” Muhammad said after her win. “I’ve been kind of hitting that time in practice and my coach was like ‘there’s no way you can’t do it.’”
This victory marked Muhammad’s fourth US 400m hurdles outdoor title of her career making her the main contender to take gold at the upcoming IAAF World Athletics Championships.
The 2016 Olympic champion, who dominated the women’s 400m hurdles event in Rio suggested, however, that her newly-set record will soon be broken again.
“That 52 is going to get broke, If not by me, by the other women,” the runner said.
Muhammad who has booked a spot on the US team will try to improve her record at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships which is scheduled to take place in Doha, Qatar from September 26 until October 6.
