MUHAMMAD BREAKS WORLD RECORD

track, the defending Olympic champion sloshed her way around the track to eclipse the mark of 52.34 set by Yuliya Pechonkina of Russia on August 8, 2003.

Running out of the fourth lane, Muhammad didn’t let the rain drops deter her. She looked at her time and was almost taken aback.

No way that can be real, right? It was.

Muhammad smiled, briefly put her hands on her hips and then slumped down when her time flashed on the screen at Drake Stadium. Third-place finisher Ashley Spencer emphatically celebrated behind her, and teenager Sydney McLaughlin came over to hug Muhammad after finishing second.

It was also lightly raining when Muhammad won the Olympic gold at the 2016 Rio Games. Her competitors might want to start looking at the weather reports for the Tokyo Games, which are a year away.

“Ashley said, ‘You’re the one that brings the rain,’” the 29-yearold Muhammad cracked. “I don’t know what it is.”