Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone might be a two-time Olympic gold medalist, but she has been facing criticism lately. Ever since her Tokyo Olympics triumph, McLaughlin-Levrone has been sporadic in her activities. The Olympian pulled out of the 2023 World Championships due to a knee injury. McLaughlin made a return at the Mt. SAC Relays in California. Although she clinched the second position, this was Levrone’s team appearance. 

Fans of the 24-year-old had to wait for two long years before they could see her in action again. Levrone made her track debut at the Oxy Invitational in May. Despite her mind-blowing performance, fans were quite expectedly unhappy with her inconsistent activities. However, amidst the surge of criticism, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone found an able ally in Michael Johnson. 

Micahel Johnson backs Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone announced her return to the track with a bang. The 24-year-old track star competed in the 100-meter hurdles and 200-meter events. And guess what? Levrone clinched victory in both disciplines. While her 100-meter hurdles time stood at 12.71s, Levrone clocked 22.38s in the 200-meter event. However, even such a dominating performance was not enough to pacify the fans. 

Track legend Michael Johnson praised the likes of Levrone, Lyles, Richardson, and more to state that the track and field’s future is in safe hands. Questioning Levrone’s frequent absence, a fan posted on X, “What are your thoughts on Sydney’s infrequency of races? As a fan, I find it frustrating because she’s so fun to watch and the biggest star of the sport. Her presence would go a long way toward bringing attention to the sport. As an athlete, I get it to a certain degree.” 

Johnson’s reply came as a soothing balm for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Voicing support for Levrone, Johnson stated, “I would love to see her race more but she is not the problem. The current structure is. It’s not her job to fix it. But it is now my job and I’m on it. Stay tuned.” Well, what Johnson was talking about was his love of track and field.

Johnson recently raised a whopping $30 million to inaugurate a league of his own. This league will feature several track and field events that will be played parallelly during the usual track season. Well, surely, Levrone’s career could have grown a lot if not for the broken system. 

McLaughlin-Levrone goes unnoticed at the Oxy Invitational 

The Oxy Invitational was wrapped in a huge controversy this year. Even after the participation of big names like Michael Norman and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the event lacked television coverage. The organizers did not even promote the competition properly and missed out on creating hype around prominent track stars. 

What was even more baffling was the fact that leading track stars were also unaware of Levrone’s participation. Thus, it is evident that if the track and field system were held together properly, Levrone would have a lot of scope to come into the limelight. If marketed appropriately, the 24-year-old would have been an even bigger name than she is today.