By Avery Fantasia, Contributing Writer

American athletic excellence is represented in no better way than at worldwide competitions. One of the most recent examples was the Track World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, which took place from September 13 through September 21 in 2025. With 49 total events, athletes representing the United States came away with a record-breaking 16 gold medals. The team ended the eight-day-long meet with 26 medals, beating the second-place team, Kenya, by 15 medals.

A particular standout athlete was New Jersey born-and-raised track phenom Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: despite not competing in what is typically considered her main event, the 400-meter hurdles, McLaughlin-Levrone played an extremely important role in Team USA’s win. She won gold and set meet records in two events, the 400-meter and 4×400-meter relay alongside Isabella Whittaker, Lynna Irby-Jackson, and Aaliyah Butler. She raced the second fastest time ever and set a meet record in the women’s 400-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 47.78 seconds. Sophie Klempner-Africa ’30, member of Winsor’s track team, finds McLaughlin-Levrone’s performance to be “very inspiring.” As a 400-meter runner herself, Klempner-Africa recognizes the amount of hard work it takes to run the event, saying, “good for her!” 

Several other Americans also shattered meet records, including the mixed 4×400 meter relay team and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in the women’s 100 meter dash. Avid sports fan Dorothy Cooper ’29 said that although the US made an impressive showing this year, some of the older athletes may be “retiring soon, [so] I’m a little worried about our performance later on. If these results are also from some younger, up-and-coming athletes, though, I’m definitely excited to see more, especially at the LA28 Olympics coming up!” While several other non-American athletes demonstrated their own athletic excellence, such as Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis and Canadian hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg, no other country was able to match the American athletes’ high performance not just as individuals, but as a team overall.