McLaughlin-Levrone claims 400m gold with second-fastest time ever

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TOKYO -- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone became the first woman in nearly 40 years to crack 48 seconds in the 400 meters, running 47.78 in a historically fast one-lap race at the world championships Thursday.

Pushed by second-place finisher Marileidy Paulino, who clocked a 47.98 of her own on the rain-slickened track in Tokyo, McLaughlin-Levrone captured her first global title in the 400 flat after dominating the hurdles for the past four years.

The second- and third-fastest times in history in this race trail only the 47.60 by East Germany's Marita Koch, set Oct. 6, 1985 -- one of the last remaining vestiges in track from an Eastern Bloc doping system that was exposed years…