Sydney McLaughlin shatters her 400m hurdles record to win World Championships gold


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USA's Sydney McLaughlin broke her own 400 metres hurdles world record to clinch her first individual Athletics World Championships gold.

McLaughlin crossed the finish line in 50.68 seconds to set the first world record at this year's championships, well clear of silver medallist Femke Bol of the Netherlands. Defending champion Dalilah Muhammad finished third in Eugene, Oregon.

She became the first woman to run under 51 seconds in the event, taking a massive 0.73 seconds out of her previous world record.

"The time is absolutely amazing and the sport is getting faster and faster," said McLaughlin, who won 4x400m world relay gold in Doha. "Just figuring out what barriers can be broken. I only get faster from here."

However, McLaughlin, who also won Olympic gold last year in Tokyo in a then-world record, denied that it had been the perfect race.

"I didn't get to watch it. So I'll have to go back and do that and talk to my coach," she said.

But she added she hit a type of 'flow state'.

"Just putting everything that you've done in practice into the race to the point where you're like just letting your body do what it does," she said.

"I mean, not overthinking it, you're just releasing the gifts and talents that God's given you. And I think those are the best races that I've ever run are the ones where I'm just free releasing the gift that I've been given.

"But I think there's always a way to improve upon. I think we're pushing the boundaries as a sport, especially in our event of what's possible in this race. So I definitely think there's always more time that can be shaved off, for sure."

Meanwhile, Bahamian double Olympic gold medallist Shaunae Miller-Uibo added another jewel to her crown on Friday by winning her first 400m title at the World Championships.

Miller-Uibo crossed the line in a blazing 49.11, nearly half a second clear of Dominican Republic's Marileidy Paulino (49.60) with Sada Williams (49.75) of Barbados, completing a Caribbean podium trio with bronze.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Updated: July 23, 2022, 6:30 AM`