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There’s perhaps no more dominant men’s or women’s track and field athlete on the planet right now than Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. But the four-time Olympic gold medalist watched one of her records fall over the weekend at the hands of high school junior Natalie Dumas.
Dumas, like McLaughlin-Levrone, hails from New Jersey and has dominated at the high school level, winning state titles this past year in the 400, 800, and 400 hurdles. Now the Eastern Regional High School star is taking her domination to the national level.
NATALIE DUMAS BREAKS SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN’S NEW JERSEY STATE RECORD 🤯🤯🤯.
The Eastern junior wins the 400 dash title at New Balance Nationals with a time of 51.14 — and she does it in one of the craziest endings ever.
Sydney McLaughlin, a four time Olympic gold medalist,… pic.twitter.com/nEX7B2Yds3
— Corey Annan (@coreyannan360) June 21, 2025
Natalie Dumas Breaks Sydney McLaughlin’s Record As Part Of Historic Triple
Dumas dove across the line in the 400 at the 2025 New Balance Nationals to not only hold off Maryland’s Sydney Sutton, but also break McLaughlin’s New Jersey state record, which had stood since 2016. With a time of 51.14, Dumas didn’t just break the previous record of 51.87, she shattered it.
She also shattered the previous New Balance Nationals meet record of 52.41, set by Adaejah Hodge of Montverde Academy.
“I honestly thought I was in second place,” Dumas said afterward. “This is the biggest race that I’ve ever ran before. I was in disbelief when I looked over at the scoreboard and I saw the time. Just unbelievable. I never expected to get two titles (at nationals).
Despite setting the record, she believes she can still go even faster.
“Just shocking,” Dumas said about breaking McLaughlin’s record. “The fact that I was so close to 50 seconds, I’m still so surprised about that. I feel like I can hit 50 if I have fresh legs.”
But she didn’t stop there. Dumas went on to complete a historic triple, winning both the 400-meter dash and 400 hurdles as well as the 800. She set top-10 times in high school history in all three events along the way.
Dumas’ performance comes at a time when high school track and field athletes are just tearing up the record books. Fellow high school junior Quincy Wilson, who won a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, won his sixth straight national title at the same event, while 14-year-old phenom Eliza Schwass ran the second-fastest mile of all-time for her age in soaking wet conditions.
We appear to be entering a golden age of track and field in the United States, and the record books are in for an all-out assault.