SCORECARD
RE RECORDS meant to be
broken? It took 16 years
for someone to set a new
standard in the women’s 400-meter
hurdles, but Dalilah Muhammad—
who crossed the finish line in
52.20 seconds at July’s U.S. outdoor
track and field championships, 0.14
of a tick faster than the previous
mark—doesn’t think her record will
have much staying power.
“I definitely think it’s going to
be broken,” she says. “I don’t see it
lasting 16 years.”
Muhammad, 29, won Olympic
gold in the 400-meter hurdles for
Team USA at Rio 2016, but last
fall she zeroed in on becoming the
greatest ever in her discipline. She
made her case at the U.S. nationals
in Des Moines, where she beat three
other global championship medalists
and 19-year-old Sydney McLaughlin,
whose 52.75 mark in ’18 was the
fastest of the year.
For Muhammad’s competition,
the scary part is that she didn’t run
a perfect race in Des Moines: Her
reaction time out of the block was
slow, and she hung too long over the
10th hurdle. So, yes, someone will
break Muhammad’s record—but she
might just do it herself.
LEAPS AND
BOUNDS
A
DALILAH MUHAMMAD SET
A WORLD RECORD, BUT
IT MIGHT NOT LAST
KNOW THE
DRILL
How did Dalilah
Muhammad
become the
best? Her
training plan
includes these
supplementary
exercises.TWO-STEP
DRILL
Muhammad
sets up four
hurdles and
takes two steps
at full speed
in between
each hurdle,
alternating legs
for each jump.HURDLE SKIPS
Muhammad
builds strength
and flexibility
in her hips by
doing series of
10 hurdles, first
leading with her
right leg and
then switching
to the left.MEDICINE BALL
THROWS
To strengthen
her core,
Muhammad
uses a
medicine ball,
heaving it
over her head,
backward
and between
her legs.COOLING DOWN
After a 20- to
25-minute
cool-down
run, she does
six 80-meter
strides followed
by static
stretching for
15 minutes
to loosen her
muscles.