“World records are my favourite food,” read the banner that the mascot held after Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke the world record at the 2022 World Championships. It won’t be an understatement to say that the US athlete might have a claim to the throne of the most dominant athlete in track and field currently. Breaking the world record six times, she has transformed the whole 400m hurdle category into her own playground.

But, despite her prolonged success in hurdling, Sydney has also had her own share of struggles in her life on and off the court. In her book Far Beyond Gold, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone looked back at one such period from the fall of 2019. Her first focus was the World Athletics Championships in Doha.

Sydney was up against arch-rival Dalilah Muhammad in her signature 400-meter hurdles race. The competition between the two was neck-to-neck, to say the least. Muhammad, the 2016 Rio Olympic champion in the event, went out hard. So did Sydney and they were level through the first 200m.

Dalilah began to edge ahead of Sydney on the top bend and entered the straight with a lead of a couple of meters. But Sydney started to come back during the final 100 meters.

At one point, it seemed as though Sydney might catch Dalilah. But the latter held on to win clocking 52.16. Sydney finished second barely 0.07 seconds behind her with a personal best time of 52.23. Despite her valiant effort, the defeat nearly broke Sydney. To obtain a sense of comfort, she decided to turn to a person who had been there for her in her younger years. But who knew a heartbreak was waiting for her there as well?

It was Sydney’s former high school boyfriend, whom she had dated for five months in 2016. In her book, Sydney wrote that despite their break, the hurdler always returned to him whenever she felt low. After her defeat, she did the same again. This time, Sydney wanted to fully rekindle her romance.

So she took a flight to one of his college football games with the hope of getting into a full-fledged relationship. After having a meal together, Sydney asked the most important question: “Do you think there’s any possibility of us ever getting back together?” Hopes were high on Sydney’s part. Because “not long ago, he’d told his mom that after college, he was going to marry me.”

However, to her shock, he replied, “I don’t think so.” Sydney’s heart skipped a beat. “I felt empty. Worthless. Everything I’d looked to for purpose was slowly crumbling in front of me,” Sydney wrote in her book. After a defeat on the professional front, this incident on her personal front shook her so much that she felt like, “Did I just lose twice?”

As she was leaving, her ex-boyfriend had asked if she still wanted to be friends with him. “‘No’, I replied. No I don’t. Best of luck with everything. I truly hope, it all works out,” Sydney wrote. During her flight back home, Sydney scrambled to figure out what went wrong. It was an all-time low for her. As she believed, she had everything to be called successful- “the Instagram followers, the money, the status.” Still, at that point, she felt like standing absolutely lonely. In her book, Sydney wrote why it was so.

“At the root of my need for that relationship was a deep-seated sense of insecurity,” Sydney wrote. During the process of her upbringing, self-confidence was something no one taught her to cultivate. So she used to be easily swayed by what others said or thought. As she revealed, she used to compare herself with several other girls on social media, which eventually sent her into more distress. Despite that low, Sydney sailed through it.

How Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone dealt with two big disappointments in her life

After Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s year took a downturn because of her defeat to Dalilah Muhammed and her rejection from her ex, she knew that she had to change something. Thus, in this moment of need, Sydney decided to turn to God. She felt that it was the only thing that could give meaning to her life. Growing up, she only knew God as someone who would punish her if she did anything bad.

She also felt that if she tried to be more religious, her peers would classify her as “uncool.” The only time Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone would go to church was when she was staying with her mother in Los Angeles. But after she moved back to New Jersey to be with her father, the hurdler decided to start going to church all by herself. This was the very first step she took to reconnect with her religion.

Although the visits were short-lived due to COVID, they instilled a belief in God within her, guiding her on her journey to becoming more faithful. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone also claims that this experience helped her become the ideal partner for her husband, Andre Levrone, when he entered her life. According to Sydney, that is another game changer in her life.

Andre entered her life as an Instagram follower. Sydney was surprised by his posts. Jesus was everywhere. Intrigued, she followed him back. Two weeks later, he sent Sydney a DM. They messaged a bit, then set up a Face­Time date. The two talked about their childhoods, and their families. He invited Sydney to a Bible study group made up of athletes. They talked almost every day after that and read the Bible together.

All these eventually led to their meeting in person, in L.A. He told Sydney about mistakes he’d made in past relationships. He put ev­erything out in the open. Sydney was absolutely at ease with Andre, as she did not feel like she needed to hide anymore.

On that occasion, Andre gave her a study Bible. “This one really helped me,” he had said. On the inside cover was a dedication. He wrote that he was excited to see Sydney blossom and have “glorious growth.” The perfect someone whom Sydney kept searching for since her teenage seems to have come to her truly by God’s grace. Probably that is why faith has become an integral part of her life.