Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is back for more gold.
McLaughlin-Levrone was only 17 years old when she made her Olympic debut with Team USA at the 2016 Rio Games, becoming the youngest Olympic track and field athlete since 1972. After earning two gold medals at the 2020 Toyko Olympics, she is setting her sights on gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
McLaughlin-Levrone will compete in the 400-meter hurdles after posting a world-leading qualification time in May of 52.70 seconds, surpassing the Olympic standard of 54.85 seconds.
Ahead of the Games, here’s what you should know about Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone:
McLaughlin-Levrone won two gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
In 2021, McLaughlin-Levrone took home gold medals in the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay.
She also holds the 400m hurdles world record with a time of 50.68 seconds.
After setting the new world record in 2022, McLaughlin opened up about how her faith helped lead her to victory.
“Honestly, this season, just working with my new coach and my new support system, it’s truly just faith and trusting the process,” McLaughlin said in her post-race interview. “I couldn’t ask for anything more and truly it is all a gift from God.”
In 2022, McLaughlin-Levrone became the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year.
McLaughlin-Levrone’s family is part of the track and field community
Track and field runs in the McLaughlin family.
Growing up in Dunellen, New Jersey, as part of a family so focused on running, McLaughlin-Levrone said her parents made sure not to put too much pressure on her at a young age.
Her father, Willie, was a semifinalist in the 400m at the 1984 Olympic trials. Her mother, Mary, on the other hand, was a 2:12 half-miler at a high school in New York, where she ran on the boys’ team.
"All of our kids are fairly talented," Willie said when Sydney was 14. "But (Sydney's) a little special. We saw it coming. It was just a matter of time.”
McLaughlin-Levrone's brother and sister, Taylor and Morgan, were collegiate track and field athletes. Taylor won silver in the 400m hurdles at the 2016 World U20 Championship and qualified with Sydney for the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.
McLaughlin-Levrone works with Allyson Felix’s coach, Bob Kersee
After McLaughlin-Levrone graduated from Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, she ran at the University of Kentucky during the 2017-18 season and won the NCAA 400m hurdles title.
After her first collegiate season, she decided to turn pro and moved to Los Angeles. Since summer 2020, she has been working with Olympic medalist Allyson Felix’s coach, Bob Kersee.
McLaughlin-Levrone credited Felix as a mentor, helping her reach new heights and learn how to handle the Olympic stage.
"I learn so much every day of practice just being out there and watching how she handles things,” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “It's been a really great experience being around her and Bobby ... (I'm trying to) soak up as much as I can as she's at the end of her career."
McLaughlin-Levrone wrote a book about her life
McLaughlin-Levrone released a book on Jan. 30 called “Far Beyond Gold: Running From Fear to Faith.”
The book dives into some of McLaughlin-Levrone’s toughest moments on the track and dissects the anxiety and depression she has faced in her life.
“I wanted to intentionally be very honest, and I think that's what people relate to most, is the vulnerability and the authenticity,” she told Olympics.com.
After writing the novel, she discovered how much she loves writing and she said she can see herself whipping up more material in the near future.
