Chased Down by Michael Ceraolo

 Modern Olympian Ode #43 (2021)  Chased Down

Almost a decade apart in age,

they had only recently become rivals

Dalilah Muhammad was the veteran,

the current world champion and defending gold medalist

in the 400-meter hurdles

Sydney McLaughlin was the up-and-comer,

having competed in Rio while still in high school

(she didn't make the final),

                                        and

she had set a world record in the event

in the U.S. Olympic Trials

                                           And

the track in Japan held the promise of further records

McLaughln was out of the blocks faster,

but Muhammad had caught her and was

leading the field at the first hurdle

And she kept her lead, a short lead,

over nine of the ten hurdles,

                                          but

McLaughlin was first over that last hurdle

and first across the finish line,

lowering her own world record

by over four-tenths of a second

Muhammad took the silver medal,

                                                   and

she bested the previous record

by thirty-two-hundredths of a second

One of the beauties of the Games

is when rivals become teammates,

                                                    and

McLaughlin and Muhammad epitomized that

when they teamed up a few days later

as members of the 4 X 400-meter relay team,

                                                                   where,

without having hurdles to clear,

they showed their flat speed

as the team demolished the field,

finishing ahead of the silver medalists

by almost four seconds