No Stranger To Team USA, Irby-Jackson Already Training For A Relay Spot, Says Goal 'Always' Is To Medal At Worlds

By David Woods for DyeStat

Lynna Irby-Jackson prepared to run the 400 meters at the upcoming World Athletics Championships, even if such an opportunity were improbable.

She finished fourth at the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships, with three to make the team for Budapest.

But when Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone went out, Irby-Jackson was in.

“It was a little shocking, being in fourth place. You know, OK, if someone were to drop, I’m immediately next in line,” Irby-Jackson said Friday. “My coach and I have been training really well to do that and get on this relay. And if they were to call and say, ‘Hey, you’re up next,’ I was going to be ready for that.”

McLaughlin-Levrone set a championship meet record with a world-leading time of 48.74 seconds July 8 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Britton Wilson was second in 49.79 and Talitha Diggs third in 49.93.

Irby-Jackson was fourth in 50.11, her best time since setting an NCAA Division 1 Championships record of 49.80 as a Georgia freshman in 2018.

“It’ll be great experience for her now,” said Tonja Buford-Bailey, who coaches her and Gabby Thomas, the 200-meter world leader.

“It will make her even better and stronger for Paris.

“But the goal, always when you go to a World Championships, is to run for a medal. We’re definitely running for a medal. No question about it.”

Heats are Aug. 20, semifinals Aug. 21 and the final Aug. 23.

Among Budapest entries, Irby-Jackson ranks ninth with her 50.11. She was 12th in the semifinals of last year’s Worlds in Eugene.

Irby-Jackson and McLaughlin-Levrone, both 24, were teammates as long ago as the World Youth Championships (U18) in 2015 in Colombia.

“I hate to hear that she’s injured,” Irby-Jackson said. “And I hope it’s one she can recover from quickly and get ready to bounce back for next year.”

Irby-Jackson has endured changes over the past year.

She left Lance Brauman’s Florida training group, relocated to Texas, joined Buford-Bailey’s group and was married.

Irby-Jackson won a four-year state sweep of 100, 200 and 400 meters as a Pike High sprinter in Indianapolis, and she earned silvers in the 400 at both U18 and U20 worlds.

She left Georgia after the 2019 indoor season to become an adidas pro, but did not qualify for Worlds in her first senior nationals.

Because of the pandemic, there wasn’t much of a 2020 season. She ran the world’s fastest 400 meters, 50.50, in an August meet at Monaco.

Since then, she has been on every Team USA: 2021 Olympics (where she captured gold and silver relay medals), 2022 Worlds, 2023 Worlds.

The three-year run puts her in a group of women featuring those such as Athing Mu, Raevyn Rogers, Keni Harrison, Dalilah Muhammad, Emma Coburn, Katie Moon, Sandi Morris and Valarie Allman.

Irby-Jackson publicly disclosed issues with anxiety ahead of the 2021 Olympic Trials. She does not feel that kind of pressure ahead of these World Championships.

“It feels natural,” she said. “I don’t feel like it’s a fluke that I’m here.”

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.