Britton Wilson is the future of sprinting! But can she beat Sydney McLaughlin?
Britton Wilson of the University of Arkansas is the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Champion in the 400 meter, a meet that she won in style. Because she didn’t just run faster than all her competitors, that would have been too easy. She beat the indoor collegiate record holder when she did it. And even that sells her short because she ran the fastest 400 meter time ever recorded by a collegiate runner, and that’s both indoors and outdoors. And by the way, this isn’t even supposed to be her best event! Britton still has collegiate eligibility remaining but it is clear that she is the future of sprinting. And the only real question that remains is will she be able to catch up to Sydney McLaughlin? But she’s already been racing the record books, and her track record suggests that the smart money is on her, and here is why.
Britton is already a top talent
Britton Wilson has been a special track and field talent for years now, but most of us just started paying attention when she took over the track at NCAAs. But believe it or not she is really a 400 meter hurdler, who finished fifth at the world championships in 2022 behind, Sydney McLaughlin. But that’s only a small part of the story. Because she also won a gold medal on the 4x400m relay and this is all before she came back to college, transferring from Tennessee to Arkansas to run in 2023. In 2022 she won the 400 and 400 hurdles at the Outdoor SEC championships. Never mind that winning both those events is extremely hard to do, not just in the SEC but anywhere for that matter. That 400 she ran was in 50.05, which is already faster than Sydney’s pr in the 400.
Britton is already one of the greats
But Britton’s dominance goes a step further, because coming out of this year’s indoor season she broke the collegiate 600 meter indoor record. And that record was held by Athing Mu. The same woman who holds the 400 meter outdoor record, that is already slower than Britton’s indoor record. By now you can see where I’m going with this, that Britton isn’t just fast, she is faster than everyone else ever was across 400 meters in college. And she is a 400 meter hurdler! The question isn’t if Britton can run fast enough to beat Sydney McLaughlin, it is will she ever do it.
Britton is a better sprinter than Sydney
Sydney McLaughlin is the greatest 400 meter hurdler because she strides through the hurdle. She can run almost as fast with hurdles in her race as she does without, where her world record is less than a second away from her 400 meter personal best. That is not normal, but I’ve seen it before. As a college runner I had a few hurdler teammates who ran similarly to this on the men’s side, and it’s a byproduct of how their body relaxes through the pacing of a 400 meter hurdle race. But the coach in me knows that hurdle races should go to the fastest sprinter. Because if hurdling technique is exactly the same, and steps are counted between each hurdle, then for the most part everyone is taking the same amount of steps between hurdles to get to the finish line. The simple logic is this, if hurdling proficiency is equal, the fastest runner should win the race, because speed is the only other determining variable. Britton is faster than the only person who can truly beat her in the 400 meter hurdles, she just has to figure out how to hurdle well enough to pull it off.
The Bottom Line
There is no guarantee that she will figure this out, but nobody saw her breaking the 600 meter indoor record either. And I’d be lying to say I expected her 400 meter record as well. She has been shocking the world, and breaking records all season long. And although she still runs in college, she has the world championship experience to suggest she truly belongs on that stage above all else. Sydney McLaughlin has been so dominant for what seems like forever, its hard to believe she can be beat. But Britton Wilson has made that her goal. How long it takes her to get there is unknown, but there is no good reason to bet against her. The track record speaks up for itself.
KNOW THE GAME. WIN THE GAME.
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