Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone had an incredible campaign in Tokyo three years ago. Taking part in her second Olympics after Rio and still recovering from her multiple defeats to Dalilah Muhammad, she had made her mind up to set things right and leave her mark in the biggest competition in the world. Sydney showed signs of being successful in this pursuit right from the Olympic trials, where she broke the world record with a time of 51.90 seconds.

Suddenly, everyone started considering her as the favorite to win the 400-meter hurdles. She didn’t let these people down as she lowered the world record to 51.46 seconds to win her first ever Olympic gold medal. It was a memorable performance for the hurdler. However, while she was in Tokyo, the hurdler was going through an inner turmoil that was eating her up from the inside. None of the spectators knew about it at that time.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone felt lonely at the Tokyo Olympics

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone felt utterly alone during the time of the Tokyo Olympics. In Rio, she had taken her whole family with her, and they had provided her with the strength needed. However, due to strict COVID regulations, they couldn’t reach Japan. To make matters worse, Sydney’s coach, Bob Kersee, couldn’t make it either, as his passport, which he had given for an update, wasn’t returned yet. This put her whole trip in tatters as she was scared of what waited for her.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone had to calm herself down at times with her faith in God so that she could compete properly. In her book ‘Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith’, she said, “I had to constantly remind myself that even though my family and possibly my coach couldn’t come with me, I wouldn’t be alone in Tokyo. The same God who had carried me around the track in Eugene would be with me every step of the way. I’d qualified. It was clearly his plan for me to at least be on the team, to make the fourteen-hour plane ride and represent my country.” She attempted to offer herself some relief, as that which would happen next would then become God’s plan.

But deep inside she was struggling. Not having a support group or even a coach present during the Olympics is a position no athlete would want to experience. Praying became the only thing that could at least give her some type of relief at that point and make her a little joyful. She still hoped to have Bob Kersee attend her first heat.

Unfortunately, this did not occur, and she had to face it alone. This is where somewhat of a boost came when she finished first, raising her own confidence. It helped her easily make her way into the second heats. This was when Bob Kersee finally got his passport and came straight down to Tokyo. At last, Sydney’s loneliness was over, and now she could focus on running with her coach by her side. Bob has been such an important part of Sydney’s career that his presence meant too much for the Olympic champion.

Bob Kersee was a huge catalyst to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s success in Tokyo

The reason why Bob Kersee’s presence was so important to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is because of the fact that the coach had really helped her a lot in the build up to the competition. He started showing his importance as soon as he started coaching the hurdler. However, he had some really peculiar methods, which would make Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wonder what good they were for.

According to Sydney, Bobby would start giving her pointless commands when he called her up to the hurdles, and she would not understand what to do. “Stand up. Wait a minute. Go run a lap. Jog to the first turn, then come back.” At the time, she thought, “What is he doing? He sounds spastic,” she quoted in her book. The fact that he would give no explanation to these commands would make things even weirder.