“I think that’s really just iron sharpening iron,” Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone spelled these lines for her arch-rival, Dalilah Muhammad. She showcased her gratitude for the American legend for pushing her every time, challenging her limits. “I think that’s what we do so well,” she concluded her remark. However, both Sydney and Dalilah faced each other 13 times till the latter’s retirement from track sports. So finding a motivation in Dalilah is not off-looking for the New Jersey native. But once, McLaughlin-Levrone took refuge in Michael Phelps’s heroics to find motivation. 

In the Tokyo Olympics, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone entered not as the ‘Syd-the-kid’. Rather, after her debut in Rio, it was the first time she had to show her superiority to the world. Her mindset stamped that part. In fact, Sydney entered the Game after dismissing her rival, Dalilah’s two-year-old world record in the 400m hurdles. So the zeal had already been there to cross the limits. In the meantime, she had her chance to mark that in the heat event. 

According to the lines from Sydney’s book, Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith, she had been slated to enter the second heat event before the 400mH final at the Tokyo Olympics. Dalilah had the first heat. Yet, the situation became complicated for McLaughlin-Levrone. Before her heat event, the torrential rainfall made the environment hostile to competing in the event like the 400mH. However, Sydney looked adamant about starting her event. Ultimately, she took off the flight on the track as soon as the gun had fired. But the droplets of rain hit her eyes like nothing else. She felt the blurred vision. In describing the moment, she wrote, “I could hardly see. The rain stabbed my eyes, making the hurdles look like moving objects.” Meanwhile, she remembered Michael Phelps’s situation in 2008. 

Phelps experienced a similar problem at the Beijing Olympics when water got into his goggles. Finally, in the 200m butterfly event, he felt as if he was swimming blind because there was no solution. But he didn’t let the situation decide his fate in the event. Rather, he left the pool after stamping the world record (1:52.03) in the event. However, Phelps had several training sessions under his coach Bob Bowman where he trained his mentee on how to counter such issues on the event day. So that knowledge came as the soulsaver at the penultimate event. But did Sydney have preparations to stand tall in such situations? 

At that moment, the athlete relied on the lessons she had received from her phenomenal coach, Bob Kersee. Eventually, riding on those wings, she ran over the hurdles and posted the fastest qualifying time in the event. That remarkable feat cleared the doubts from her mind. Her confidence grew to the extent that she thought of one straight target: “I would be competing for gold.” On August 4, 2021, she made that a real business. 

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone flew with the acquired motivation 

On August 4, 2021, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone had another nemesis ready on the track, challenging her chances. However, it was the first face-off between Sydney and Femke Bol on the global stage. Along with the Dutch athlete, Dalilah Muhammad had also been there to take over the reign of the 400mH from Sydney. Even, up to 340 meters of the event on the final day, no one was sure about the probable winner’s name out of these three athletes. But Bol was the first one to lose the pace when the remaining distance hit 60m. However, Dalilah went on. 

But in the final strides, the legend lost the air and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone whizzed past her. She took 51.46 seconds to hit another world record in the event. Dalilah tried her best but with 0.12 seconds short, she had to remain satisfied with the silver medal. After the event, Sydney showered praise on her coach, Bobby Kersee. She ultimately conceded, “It’s just about trusting your training, trusting your coach, and that will get you all the way round the track.”  That saga still continues.