Queens’ fastest person finishes second in Tokyo Olympics

Rochdale-born Dalilah Muhammad finsihed with the silver medal in the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2021.  AP photo by Francisco Seco

By Jacob Kaye

Dalilah Muhammad, who is likely the fastest person born in Queens in the past three decades and perhaps of all time, finished second in the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the Tokyo games Tuesday night. 

Despite finishing with the silver medal, Muhammad finished with the second-fastest time ever in the event at 51.58 seconds.

Sydney McLaughlin, Muhammad’s teammate, finished with the gold and, running the race in 51.46 seconds, set a new world record.

The two hugged after the race.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards celebrated the borough’s homegrown star after her silver medal finish.

“What a race, Dalilah! Our hometown champion is coming back to Rochdale Village with a [silver] medal around her neck,” Richards wrote on Twitter. “There are no words to describe our pride and love for our amazing Queen of [Queens]. Her name will live on forever in this borough.”

Muhammad, who was born and raised in Rochdale, was the reigning Olympic champion of the event, winning the gold in Rio in 2016.

The Benjamin N. Cardozo High School graduate also broke the record for the event in 2019, running the quarter mile race in 52.20 seconds at the 2019 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

That record was then broken by New Jersey-born McLaughlin, who ran the 400-meter hurdles in 51.9 seconds at the Olympic trials in June.

“The four times that we competed, we got four world records,” Muhammad said on the Today Show Wednesday. “It’s definitely iron sharpening iron.”

The 31-year-old Muhammad faced several hardships in the leadup to the games – she battled a hamstring injury and she contracted COVID-19.

“That definitely impacted my training,” she said ahead of the finals, according to the New York Times. “But I kind of got my fitness back right when I needed to.”