Michigan Standout And Canadian Olympian Runs 52.46 In Final Appearance For Wolverines

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Tim Healy photo

INTERVIEWS | RESULTS

EUGENE - Back in February, Savannah Sutherland set her sights on a number and scrawled it on a white board with her pen: 52.70. 

It was the number, in seconds, that she would aim to hit by the end of the season in the 400-meter hurdles. A number slightly faster than the collegiate record, held by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's 52.75. 

On Saturday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Sutherland went faster than McLaughlin-Levrone did in her days at the University of Kentucky, and faster than her goal. 

Sutherland, running in her Michigan uniform for the last time at Hayward Field, ran a time of 52.46 seconds. She was 2.20 seconds ahead of Texas sophomore Akala Garrett, who finished second.

That made her the ninth fastest woman in history in the 400 hurdles. It smashed her own Canadian record. And it tied her with Femke Bol of The Netherlands for the second-fastest 400-meter hurdler in the world this year. 

"The hardest part was probably getting over my fear and just run it," Sutherland said. "I knew I had something in me so I had to just let it go."

Sutherland said she has looked up to McLaughlin-Levrone, the world record holder, and met her for the first time at the Paris Olympic Games when the raced in the final. Sutherland, representing her native Canada, finished seventh. 

There is also a Michigan connection. McLaughlin-Levrone's older brother, Taylor, was a 400-meter hurdler for the Wolverines who graduated in 2019. 

"It's almost a full circle moment for me, for sure," Sutherland said. 

The first time she ran a 400-meter hurdles race for Michigan, as a freshman in 2022, Sutherland ran a time of 59.47 seconds. 

But she was a quick study. In 2023 she won her first NCAA Outdoor title in the event when she ran 54.45. 

This year, with an Olympic Games final already on her resume, the 21-year-old was determined to take the next step. 

"I've been manifesting it for a while," Sutherland said. "Usually I do have a personal best in the NCAA final, so I definitely knew I was capable of it for sure."

The stride pattern that Sutherland had put together, practiced and visualized came together on Saturday. 

"I put my jersey on this morning and I told my coach this is the last time I'll put this uniform on, so I just wanted to do it justice," she said. "Michigan has given me a lot the past four years and my coaches and sports staff have been by my side through all the ups and downs. I just wanted to make everybody proud." 

Sutherland said she would get some rest and treat the summer as a second season as she pursues her goals of competing at the World Championships in Tokyo in September. 

"We've got three whole months, so we're going to take some time off and decompress and sort of soak it all in and then get right back to it," she said.