Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce runs in the women’s 400m final at the London Diamond League on Saturday July 20, 2024. (PHOTO: World Athletics).
Jamaican champion Nickisha Pryce set a new national record of 48.57 seconds to win the women’s 400m on Saturday at the London Diamond League, reclaiming the world lead from American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
The meet marked the final Diamond League fixture before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Pryce’s time is the fastest in the world since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The time also marks a Diamond League record – bettering the 48.97 set by Shaunae Miller-Uibo in Monaco exactly six years ago to the day – it also elevates Pryce to seventh on the world all-time list, ahead of the likes of Cathy Freeman and Sanya Richards-Ross.
Poland’s European champion Natalia Kaczmarek finished second with a national record and personal best of 48.90 seconds, while world indoor silver medallist Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands was third with a personal best of 49.58 seconds. Amber Anning (49.63) and Laviai Nielsen (49.87) also finished inside 50 seconds.
Pryce, making her Diamond League debut, had set the previous Jamaican record of 48.89 seconds when she won the NCAA title at Hayward Field in Eugene on June 8. She held the world lead for 20 hours until McLaughlin-Levrone surpassed it with a time of 48.75 seconds at Icahn Stadium in New York, narrowly missing Sanya Richards-Ross’ national record of 48.70 seconds set in 2006.
Pryce is having an outstanding season. The 23-year-old University of Arkansas senior was eliminated in the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships and entered 2024 with a personal best of 50.21 seconds.
