TOKYO — Their shared history portended more of the same, more Olympic history, more track and field history. This wasn’t certain when the women’s 400-meter hurdles final began on Wednesday morning, half an hour before high noon. But it was possible, even expected, when Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad lined up for their lap.
For two years now, the American hurdlers had lowered their times against each, passing elite marks back and forth like a bread basket at the dinner table. They made doing something that had literally never been done before looked easy. Most break bread.