Few days ago, we started a series on the World’s Top 10 Female Sprinters in 2024 where we revealed our Nos. 10-6 athletes. Our Top 5 Female Sprinters for 2024 had a stellar season, pushing boundaries and breaking records in style to cement their positions in history. Here we go!
5. Femke Bol
Femke Bol made history in 2024 by breaking her 400m World Indoor Record whilst racing at the Dutch Indoor Championships in February, running an impressive time of 49.24s. In March, she lowered her time even further at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, running 49.17s to strike GOLD.
In the build up to the Olympics, Bol ran a blazing Area Record (AR) and National Record (NR) of 50.95s over the 400m Hurdles at La Chaux-de-Fonds and followed it up with 51.30s at the London Athletics Meet to show her preparedness for the Games.
Bol’s biggest moment at the Olympic Games came in the mixed 4x400m relay where she ran an astonishing split of 47.93s to anchor the Netherlands to GOLD in a European Record of 3:07.43, surging past USA and Britain. In the 400m hurdles final, Bol claimed a Bronze medal with a time of 52.57s and then anchored the Dutch women’s 4x400m team to Silver in an NR of 3:19.50, thereby leaving Paris with a complete set of medals.
4. Gabby Thomas
US sprinter Gabby Thomas had a phenomenal year. Opening her season at the Texas Relays, she posted impressive times of 10.88s (+2.2) and 22.08s in the 100m and 200m respectively. She also raced to a Season’s Best (SB) of 50.37s in the 400m at the LSU Alumni Gold.
Thomas proved to be an asset for the US at the World Relays in the Bahamas and was a member of the GOLD-winning quartets in the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays respectively. At the U.S. Olympic Trials, the World Championships Silver medallist posted an impressive 21.78s in the 200m semis and eventually won the title in 21.81s.
Thomas emerged one of the top performers at the Olympic Games and was unbeaten in the 200m, coming through to take the title in 21.82s to finish ahead of Julien Alfred. She also helped the US to GOLD medals in the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m respectively, securing three GOLD medals in Paris.
3. Marileidy Paulino
Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino solidified her name in history in 2024. She started strong in April at the Xiamen Diamond League, running a Season’s Best (SB) of 50.08s. By the end of May, she bettered her SB to 49.30s at the Oslo Bislett Games. A month later at the Meeting de Paris, she further improved her time to 49.20s.
The highlight of Paulino’s year came at the Paris Olympics where she proved dominant, cruising through her heat in 49.42s and the semis in 49.21s. In the final, Paulino raced to GOLD in a scorching lifetime best, National Record (NR) and Area Record (AR) of 48.17s, becoming her country’s first-ever female Olympic GOLD medallist in any sport. She also broke the Olympic Record in the process, surpassing the previous mark of 48.25s held by Marie-José Pérec, moving up to 4th on the all-time list.
Paulino finished the season unbeaten with 11 straight wins, capping it off with a victory (49.59s) at the Athlos Meet.
2. Julien Alfred
Julien Alfred’s 2024 season was nothing short of extraordinary. The 23-year-old sprinter started the season strong, winning the women’s 60m at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow with a then World Lead (WL) of 6.98s. In May, she found her rhythm at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, running a Season’s Best (SB) of 10.93s, but it was at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston she truly made her mark, clocking a new lifetime best and equal Stadium Record of 10.78s to win the women’s 100m.
Not done with setting records, Alfred sped to a new National Record (NR) of 21.86s at the London Diamond, showcasing her depth just before the Olympics. In Paris, the St. Lucia athlete was the woman to beat, recording victories in her heat and semis with times of 10.95s and 10.84s – the fastest time overall – respectively. Alfred took things a notch higher in the final as she stunned the world by upsetting Sha’Carri Richardson to win her first Olympic GOLD in a new NR and PB of 10.72s, becoming St. Lucia’s first-ever Olympic medallist.
She also impressed in the 200m, claiming the Silver medal in 22.08s and ended her season as winner of the women’s 100m in the Diamond League Final.
1.Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
In 2024, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone added even more legendary feats to her career, setting new World Records (WR) as her trademark has been over the years. In May, the hurdler clocked a new lifetime best over 200m, returning a time of 22.07s while competing at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix.
The following month, McLaughlin sped to a then World Lead (WL) of 48.75s in the 400m, just 0.01s off her Personal Best (PB) set last year when she became the third American woman in history to break 49s in the 400m. Later that month, she proved her dominance at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, culminating in a new WR of 50.65s in her signature event, the 400m hurdles, to seal her Olympic spot.
Her standout moment came at the Paris Olympics as the defending Olympic Champion broke her own WR once again, the sixth time in her career, to clock a blistering 50.37s in the 400m hurdles, winning her third Olympic GOLD.
She also helped the US women’s 4x400m relay team to another GOLD medal as the squad set a new Area Record (AR) and National Record (NR) of 3:15.27. Her dominance in 2024 earned her the World Athletics Female Track Athlete of the Year Award.
