By Laura Amato
Dalilah Muhammad was as good as gold on Thursday night, taking the gold medal in the final of the women’s 400-meter hurdle at the Olympic Games.
The former Cardozo star finished in 53.13 seconds—nearly a half-second ahead of her closest competitor. Muhammad is the first American woman to win gold in the event.
She swept all three of her races in Rio—after doing the same at the Olympic Trials earlier this year—and her gold-medal run was the fastest time she posted at the Games.
It’s a dominant performance for Muhammad, who suffered an injury-plagued season in 2014 and battled her way back over the last two years. She reevaluated her approach on the track and settled into a rhythm that was not only succesful, it was historic.
