Kenny Bednarek has heaped praise on Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone following her dominating 400m display at the Tokyo World Championships that saw her set a new record at the event.

Kenny Bednarek has heaped praise on Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone after the American sprint queen stunned the world with her blistering 47.78 over 400m in Tokyo, the second-fastest time in history and the quickest since Marita Koch’s long-standing world record (47.60) set in 1985.

McLaughlin-Levrone, who temporarily set aside the 400m hurdles to focus on the flat one-lap event, delivered her masterpiece in a race stacked with talent, including Dominican Republic’s Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino and Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser.

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Bednarek, speaking with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson  on NightCap, admitted he wasn’t surprised by McLaughlin-Levrone’s jaw-dropping run.

“I wasn’t surprised. After seeing Sydney in her previous races, I already thought a world record was possible. Sydney’s a gamer — she’s a dawg. 

“We’ve seen what she’s done in the hurdles, but dropping to the flat 400 and running like that? That’s insane.”

The U.S. sprinter highlighted how McLaughlin-Levrone’s versatility and work ethic set her apart from her rivals.

“She works so hard, and if I were her, I’d just go after the world record now. She’s so close. The hurdles are easy for her — she dominates there — but testing herself in the 400 flat is a different challenge. She’s just different. 

“Honestly, she can break whichever record she wants, whenever she decides.”

Sharpe, who set up the discussion, pointed out how the race dynamics played perfectly into McLaughlin-Levrone’s hands.

“You had Paulino out in lane eight, going out harder than she normally does, and Naser always takes it out fast. That was the perfect setup for Sydney. She just had to attach herself, and then her strength in the last 100 did the rest.”

The NFL Hall of Famer added:

“When you saw that clock stop at 47.78, you knew this wasn’t just talent — this was greatness. She’s a different breed.”

Coach Bobby Kersee has hinted McLaughlin-Levrone still wants to chase history in her primary event, the 400m hurdles, where she already owns the world record (50.68). 

A sub-50-second clocking would cement her as one of the greatest track athletes of all time — in the company of Florence Griffith-Joyner and Usain Bolt.

But with her dominant 400m performance, the 25-year-old now stands at a crossroads: continue rewriting the hurdles record book or go all-in on Koch’s nearly four-decade-old flat 400m world record.

Either way, Sharpe believes the outcome is inevitable:

“There are great hurdlers and sprinters in her era — but they’re just not Sydney.”