EUGENE, Ore. (LEX 18) — There was no better way to end the World Athletics Championships. Two former Kentucky track and field stars performing on the biggest stage.
UK alumnae Sydney McLaughlin and Abby Steiner helped lead Team USA to a third consecutive gold medal in the women's 4x400-meter relay Sunday night. The former Cats won their second gold medal of the meet.
Team USA finished with a winning time of 3:17.79, the fastest time ever on U.S. soil. It's all thanks to blazing splits by Steiner, who ran 49.99 as the second leg and McLaughlin's 47.91 as the anchor.
Steiner substituted for Dalilah Muhammad, who reportedly suffered an injury during warm-ups, according to the NBC broadcast team.
Steiner ends her season with 57 races, going back to December 2021. She became the first woman to win gold in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays since Allyson Felix did it back in 2017 at the World Championships.
McLaughlin, for the second year in a row, has won the 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay at the World Championships.
“We’re deep,” McLaughlin said. “We have a lot of really amazing athletes and we all put our 100% best out there every time we perform.”
UK alumna Jasmine Camacho-Quinn also medaled Sunday. The Olympic champion won bronze in the women's 100m hurdles - her first World medal - setting the Puerto Rican national record and a personal best time of 12.23.
Team USA's 4x400m victory gave America its 33rd medal of the meet. The United States broke the record for most medals ever won by a single nation at a World Track and Field Championships.
