The Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol show is under way at Paris 2024 after both athletics stars comfortably made the women's 400m hurdles semi-finals.

McLaughlin-Levrone and Bol are the two fastest women in history as the only female hurdlers to have ever gone sub-51 seconds, and they are set for a mammoth showdown in Thursday’s final.

First, though, they have to get there, and in the heats world record holder and Olympic champion McLaughlin-Levrone breezed through with a 53.60 to make the semis.

Meanwhile, reigning world champion Bol – who won in Budapest last year in McLaughlin-Levrone’s absence – ran 53.38 to go fastest overall, with both easily capable of going at least a second quicker once the heat turns up.

The repechage round takes place on Monday morning, with the semi-finals on Tuesday evening before the women’s 400m hurdles final is held on Thursday (8 August).

Rushell Clayton will be out to prove she is not merely the best of the rest behind Bol and McLaughlin-Levrone, and the Jamaican was the first contender to take to the track on Sunday.

In the first of five heats, Clayton – bronze medallist in the worlds last year – crossed the line first in 54.32.

USA’s Jasmine Jones then won the second heat, outlining her podium potential with a 53.60, before Bol - fresh off the back of winning gold in the 4 x 400m relay - went out next to huge cheers at the Stade de France.

Bol had come flying back to win a thrilling gold for the Dutch on the final relay leg on Saturday night, and this time around she managed her energy and coasted over the line in first with a time of 53.38.

“I would like to sleep now!” Bol, who ran 50.95 in July, told BBC. “I really feel the Olympic spirit, it feels so amazing, but now I have enough time to rest.”

American Anna Cockrell then joined compatriot Jones in winning her heat, telling Olympics.com afterwards: “That was good, it was very exciting. I feel really good, a couple of things to clean up.

“I know at least two corrections my coach will have for me. This was a really good first round. In Tokyo I was very wide eyed and jittery so it was nice to go out here and feel ready and experienced.”

It was then time for their superstar American teammate to take centre stage.

McLaughlin-Levrone, who broke her own world record at the U.S. trials in June, swayed from side to side at the start and looked completely in the zone as her name was called out.

From there, she shot out of the blocks and flew past her rivals in the outside lanes, only stumbling slightly on the final bend before crossing the line first in 53.60.

McLaughlin-Levrone’s Easy Win

SAINT DENIS, France — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was about to enter the press area at the Stade de France after her debut in the Paris Olympics, and with two words, the woman in charge of the interviews made it clear that this Q&A session would last about as long as her race.

“Three questions,” she said.

Really, though, even that was too many. On perfect sunny day here in this Paris suburb, McLaughlin-Levrone made her first race as she defends her gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles look easy. She jogged the last few meters to finish in 53.60 seconds, a time that used to be really, really good in this event until she came along.

“It was good to shake the rust off,” the Dunellen native said. “I haven’t raced since the U.S. trials, so I feel good. The track is pretty fast, I wasn’t expecting it coming into the second turn. But, yeah, it feels pretty good to get back out there.”

She now moves onto the semifinals of the event, which will take place at 2:07 p.m. ET on Tuesday. If the preliminaries held any drama, it was seeing McLaughlin-Levrone’s one true rival — Femke Bol of the Netherlands — finish a hair faster in her preliminary heat at 53.38. This, of course, will irrelevant if they race for the title on Thursday at 3:25 p.m. ET.

The McLaughlin-Levrone & Bol Rivalry

Bol already has a gold medal at these Olympics. She ran a blistering final lap in the 4x400-meter mixed relay on Saturday night to rally the Dutch team past the Americans in a world-record time. When Bol started the anchor run, the Netherlands was fourth. Bol ran the final lap in just 47.93 seconds to pass American Kaylyn Brown at the finish.

It was impressive. McLaughlin-Levrone was eligible for the mixed relay but her coach, Bob Kersee, did not want her to run the night before the preliminary heats of her signature event. “I decided against that,” he told NJ Advance Media.

His top athlete, meanwhile, wasn’t watching.

“I didn’t see the race but I saw the results,” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “Definitely a fast race. We knew it was going to take a world record whoever won, so I’m sure it was a very close race. I’ll have to go back and watch.”

The Road to the 400m Hurdles Final

The remaining schedule for the former Union Catholic star is likely to work out like this:

August 6: Semifinals — 400 hurdles (2:07 p.m. ET)

August 8: Finals — 400 hurdles (3:25 p.m. ET)

August 10: Finals — 4x400 relay (3:22 p.m. ET)

All of those races will air on NBC, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com. If she were to run in the 4x100 relay final, which Kersee said was unlikely, that would take place on August 9 at 1:30 p.m. For McLaughlin-Levrone, the priority is become the first women to defend the gold medal in the event since it was added to the Olympics in 1984.

“The No. 1 goal was to come back and defend her championship,” Kersee said. “The last time, she went in as the underdog (to American Dalilah Muhammad). This time, she’s coming in as the favorite. Sydney knows what she wants. From the first day I’ve worked with her, she’s been focused on what she wants to do as an athlete.”

A New Era of the 400m Hurdles

It is hard not to watch her now and draw a contrast to her first Olympics in 2016.

Then, in Rio de Janeiro, she was surprised to qualify for the semifinals after finishing fifth in her preliminary heat. “School’s starting soon. I have to start my summer reading,” she told the few reporters who interviewed her that night eight years ago before surprisingly making the semifinals.

Now, she not only enters her third Olympics as the prohibitive favorite, but her U.S. teammates voted her as one of the two captains along with Grant Holloway. That is quite an honor for an athlete who, despite her Olympic experience, is still just 24.

“It was a whole team (vote),” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “People were nominated and then they voted, so I was honored to have that role. I know Allyson (Felix) had that last time. It’s just great to among peers know that they respect me as a competitor, and I’m just hoping to represent Team USA the best I can.”

One race into her Paris Olympics, she’s off to a good start.