McLaughlin-Levrone runs 48.90 to capture second 400-meter national title

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won her second U.S. title in the 400-meter flat Saturday, running the oval in 48.90 seconds to secure a spot in the race at world championships later this summer.

McLaughlin-Levrone, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 400 hurdles, has been focusing on the flat race this season. She beat Isabella Whittaker by .31 seconds to improve to 6-0 lifetime in 400-meter finals.

McLaughlin-Levrone also won the national title in 2023, but missed worlds due to injury.

This marked the 25-year-old's third time cracking the 49-second mark in the 400. It was her best time of the season, though she came up short of both her personal best (48.74) and the American record (48.70) set by Sanya Richards-Ross in 2006.

That record figures to be in jeopardy in Tokyo in September on the same track where McLaughlin-Levrone won her first Olympic hurdles title four years ago.

But she is no sure thing to win. Two runners — 2019 world champion Salwa Eid Naser and defending world and Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino — have run faster this year than McLaughlin-Levrone did in Saturday's final at Hayward Field.

“It just takes reps,” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “I'm grateful for this opportunity, grateful to be on the team, grateful to be healthy, grateful to God that I'm here.”

McLaughlin-Levrone also has two Olympic gold medals in the women's 4x400 relay.

Jacory Patterson won the men's 400 in 44.16 seconds to earn a spot on his first outdoor world-championships team.

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Jacory Patterson wins the men's 400-meter final at the U.S. Championships athletics meet in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone looks on before the women's 400-meter final at the U.S. Championships athletics meet in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wins the women's 400-meter final at the U.S. Championships athletics meet in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shows her gold medal after winning the women's 400-meter finals during the U.S. Championships athletics meet in Eugene, Ore.,Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man who was having an affair with his family's Brazilian au pair used an elaborate scheme to lure an unsuspecting man to the house as part of a plan to kill his wife, prosecutors said in opening statements on Tuesday.

Brendan Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the February 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and the second man, Joseph Ryan, at the Banfields’ home in northern Virginia. He has pleaded not guilty and could face life in prison if convicted.

In opening statements, Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Jenna Sands told jurors that Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhães, the family’s au pair, were in love. Banfield did not want a divorce because he did not want to lose custody of his then-4-year-old daughter or even to share custody with his wife, Sands said. To “get rid of” Christine Banfield, the pair impersonated her on a social media site for sexual fetishes and spent a month arranging an elaborate scenario with Ryan in which Ryan would act out an arranged rape fantasy, Sands said.

They arranged for Ryan to come in the morning while Christine Banfield was sleeping and bring restraints and a knife, Sands said. Magalhães and Brendan Banfield left the house but stayed nearby. Magalhães entered after Ryan and called Brendan Banfield. She also called 911 but hung up, Sands said. She only called 911 again after both she and Brendan Banfield had shot Ryan and Banfield had stabbed his wife multiple times, Sands said.

Magalhães was also charged with murder but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in 2024 after cooperating with investigators. She will be sentenced at the conclusion of Banfield’s trial.

Banfield's attorney, John Carroll, said in opening statements that Magalhães had maintained her innocence for a year but eventually changed her story in exchange for a sweetheart deal.

“The whole reason she was arrested was to flip her against my client,” Carroll said.

The prosecution's theory relies on the idea that Banfield and Magalhães were “catfishing” Ryan by pretending to be Christine Banfield. However, the lead homicide detective and the forensic detective both disagreed with that theory, Carroll said. Both were later transferred. Carroll said there was “turmoil” inside the police department over that case that some media have dubbed the “au pair affair."

“You’re going to see a presentation of a horrible, tragic, awful event,” Carroll said. He said there is no dispute that Banfield and Magalhães were having an affair; however, “there’s an awful lot more to look for.”

Banfield, whose daughter was at the house on the morning of the killings, is also charged with child abuse and felony child cruelty in connection with the case. He will also face those charges during the aggravated murder trial.

Associated Press reporter Travis Loller contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.

FILE - This image provided by the Fairfax County Police Department and taken on Oct. 13, 2023, was submitted as evidence in the murder case against Brendan Banfield shows a framed photo of Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhães on his bedside table in Herndon, Va. (Fairfax County Police Department via AP, File)