Watch out Budapest 2023 and Paris 2024. There’s a new breed of superstar athlete aiming to have their names inscribed on the record books.
And they’re not content with just being on one page.
This year alone, the stakes have been raised by some of the world’s best track & field stars with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Faith Kipyegon, Athing Mu and Yulimar Rojas among those stating their aim to make history in not just one but two events.
For McLaughlin-Levrone that means an assault on the 400m flat to add to her world record-breaking feats in the 400m hurdles.
Athing Mu’s task sees her take on the 1500m as well as the 800m where she is the reigning Olympic and world champion.
Kipyegon has already shown she is more than ready for the 1500m/5000m double, breaking both world records in 2023 before even stepping onto the track at a major championship.
And for the Queen of the Triple Jump, Rojas, former goals have proven too small for an athlete who is now chasing long jump titles as well.
None of these athletes face an easy task in their quest for dual-sport immortality. But if anyone’s up to the challenge, these record-breaking women may just be.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, USA, 400m hurdles and 400m
The challenge of dominating in both the 400m hurdles and 400m flat is in full swing for the USA’s precociously talented Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
A 400m hurdles gold at Tokyo 2020 was followed by another on home soil at last year’s World Athletics Championships in a world record time of 50.68 seconds that would have seen her reach the women’s 400m flat final.
It wasn’t long until the question was raised: what could McLaughlin-Levrone achieve in the 400m?
This year, the 23-year-old has gone some way to answering that question, winning the US trials in the flat event with a world-leading time of 48.74.
Gold at the World Athletics Championships seems to be within her reach, but there’s a bigger question that has been posed: Can she break the 47.60 seconds record Germany’s Marita Koch set almost 40 years ago?
There’s a way to go until she challenges that mark, but for the first season her progress could not be going any more smoothly.
Yulimar Rojas, Venezuela, triple jump and long jump
“I’m a woman of challenges,” Yulimar Rojas said when announcing her decision to aim for gold in both the long jump and triple jump at Paris 2024.
The reigning world record holder in the triple jump has been in a league of her own in her pet event. However, a switch to the single leap discipline will present a whole new challenge for someone so used to having it her own way on the international scene.
Rojas will test herself against some of the very best in the Monaco Diamond League on 21 July, duking it out with four athletes who have jumped over 7m, while the Venzuelan’s personal best is a relatively modest 6.88m.
But if you’re chasing a dream you have to start somewhere.
“For me, doubling at Paris 2024 is a dream of mine that I’ll try to make true this coming year,” she said.
Given her past track record, you wouldn’t want to bet against her.
- Monaco Diamond League 2023: Preview, schedule and how to watch live
Faith Kipyegon, Kenya, 1500m and 5000m
Of all the athletes on this list, the one most likely to achieve her dreams in her new event is Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon.
The reason? Well, she’s only the current world record holder over both of the distances she has turned her hand to.
The 1500m record was the first to fall, as the two-time Olympic champion at the distance became the first-ever woman to break the 3:50 mark with her time of 3:49.11 at this year’s Golden Gala Diamond League.
But the bigger surprise came just eight days later when the 29-year-old mother clocked 14:05.20 to set the new 5000m world record - even though she has rarely run the distance.
Now with the World Athletics Championships on the horizon, Kipyegon will attempt to conquer both distances and will enter each event as the favourite.
“The 1500m remains my favorite event, but I am doing very well in the 5000m,” Kipyegon told World Athletics. “So I am going to double up in both the 1500m and 5000m in Budapest.”
Athing Mu, USA, 800m and 1500m
Everyone in the world of track & field was expecting Athing Mu to someday attempt the 400m/800m double.
Everyone, that is, except Mu and her coach Bobby Kersee.
With the young athlete's new training partner McLaughlin-Levrone adding the 400m flat to her repertoire, Olympic and world 800m champion Mu will opt for another double at this year’s Worlds in Budapest: the 800m and 1500m.
This year’s US trials for the Worlds gave an indication of how her progress is going, with a second place behind Nikki Hiltz and a new PB of 4:03.44 showing she has the lungs to excel at the longer distance.
But tougher challenges remain ahead.
The world record in the 1500m currently stands at 3:49.11, some 14 seconds faster than Mu’s best effort. So she will have to show some impressive improvements to be in with any chance of gold next month in Budapest with Paris 2024 just a year away.
