Over the past decade, three names have shaped the women’s 400m hurdles: Dalilah Muhammad, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, and Femke Bol. Their contests have rewritten record books, shifted perceptions of the event, and delivered some of track and field’s most memorable races. And in 2025, with McLaughlin-Levrone focusing on the flat 400m, the storyline narrows to Muhammad’s farewell and Bol’s dominance. The question is no longer about a three-way battle, but whether the veteran can summon one last performance to keep pace with the Dutchwoman.
Muhammad has spent her career bridging eras. From her Olympic gold in Rio to her world record battles with McLaughlin-Levrone in 2019, she has repeatedly proven her ability to meet the moment. But Bol has entered her own phase of control, unbeaten in 2023 and storming to her first global title in Budapest. Her 51.45 in London that summer underlined what Justin Gatlin later described as a relentless rise. “She gonna try. She gonna try. I’m just saying that Femke Bol is just chipping away. She’s constantly chipping away. She’s getting faster,” he remarked.
For Gatlin, the central issue is not whether Bol will slow down but whether Muhammad can raise herself once more. “So, it’s gonna take Dalilah, the race of Dalilah’s life at the end of her career, which is going to be probably the last race that she’s ever run in her life, to go out there and say, ‘I have to go get this done.’” The perspective was not offered lightly. Gatlin emphasized that Bol has sustained her pursuit of faster times even without McLaughlin-Levrone in the field. “She still went out there and said, ‘I’m running 51s. I’m getting faster,’” he added in the recent episode of the Tidal League podcast.
Rodney Green, who joined Gatlin in the discussion, framed the narrative in more sentimental terms. He spoke of wanting a “fairy tale finish” for Muhammad, envisioning her winning the USA Trials, claiming a world title, and departing with the kind of closure few champions achieve. Gatlin acknowledged that hope, but underscored the scale of the challenge.
The track legend stated, “You can’t do that. Not against no Sydney. Not against no Femke. You got to go out there and run. You got to run that perfect race. You got to have that perfect race because that’s there the margin of error in this field. It can’t exist.”
Credit: Instagram/Dalilah Muhammad
The farewell stage, then, is set with unusual clarity. Bol remains the front-runner, her pursuit of sub-51 territory unbroken. Muhammad, by contrast, must attempt to deliver one final performance of absolute precision.
Gatlin’s words cut through the nostalgia, reminding observers that sentiment cannot outweigh execution. Yet even he conceded the appeal of an unlikely ending. “I think we all will be very happy for even the people that she competes against. We’re gonna be happy for because that’s something that you really have to chase… to hang the spikes up with a gold medal around your neck.”
Amid this, Dalilah Muhammad is not taking a break. She is shaping her final season around one ultimate goal. Winning in Tokyo.
Dalilah Muhammad readies for one last relentless push toward Tokyo glory
Dalilah Muhammad speaks of Tokyo as the final summit she wishes to reach, not as a desperate last chance, but as the deliberate conclusion of a long, demanding pursuit. In her own words, “I think we have this idea that we have to be doing bad to retire, and I don’t think that’s really the truth. It’s more of a mental thing for me, I just mentally know that I want to do other things.” Her preparation for these championships, and the Games that follow, has less to do with chasing proof and more to do with completing a vision that began long before she stood atop an Olympic podium.
She acknowledges that her longevity was built not on constant victory but on an ability to appear fully present when the stakes were highest. “I want people to remember me for just being relentless. I’ve definitely not been that athlete that’s winning every single race, but I’ve definitely been that athlete that shows up when it counts.” That approach remains at the centre of her training as she moves towards Tokyo. The emphasis now is on clarity rather than accumulation, on paring back the extraneous, and on drawing once more upon the discipline that carried her through record-breaking moments.
For Muhammad, the pursuit of one last triumph is grounded in lessons she now carries beyond the track: Confidence, patience, and the habit of breaking vast ambitions into achievable steps. She describes it as learning “how to dedicate your time and dedicate your energy into doing what you want to achieve.”
It is with that philosophy that she lines up again, intent not on extending her career indefinitely, but on honouring it with a final performance that reflects its essence.
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