The Hayward Field has been witnessing some noteworthy performances over the past few days. The ongoing US Track and Field Olympic Team Trials are bolstering the country’s Paris hopes with every event, and the heats of the women’s 400m hurdles race have been no different. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone moved one step closer to defending her 2020 Olympic gold medal by securing the winning spot in the first round with a time of 53.07 seconds. However, she’s had her share of troubles to deal with.

Earlier this month, the three-time World Championships gold medalist voiced her disappointment as she came achingly close to the women’s 400m US record at the NYC Grand Prix, but failed to surpass the same. But she’s well on the path to compensating for the missed opportunity, despite having a serious hiccup along the way.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s iron will catches everyone off guard

In a post from earlier today on X, the official NBC Olympics & Paralympics account shared tales of gore that befell Sydney just days before the Olympic Team Trials. “Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is competing (and dominating) at #TrackFieldTrials24 despite losing TWO toenails last week,” reads the caption of the post and the fans might already be feeling the squeamish feeling in their stomachs. We surely are. 

In the accompanying video, one of the on-track interviewers said how he was alerted of the situation by McLaughlin-Levrone herself before the interview. “Just before the interview, Sydney says, ‘I lost two toenails last week,‘” says the interviewer as his response to the newsflash perfectly captures the general feeling the fans might be experiencing right now after learning about the same.

However, even the snag wasn’t enough to keep the iconic hurdle runner to put a hold on her efforts to win two back-t0-back gold medals on the grandest stage of the sporting world. Mclaughlin’s two big toenails fell off when she was training, but she faced up to the challenge like a real champ. “We wrapped them up and we’re out here competing at the Olympic Trials,” the interviewer revealed what he was told by the 2019 Diamond League winner. It’s probably this kind of resolute determination that pushes her to strive for greatness in all aspects of her life.

Quite a bumpy ride for the hurdle runner

After setting the world lead at the Edwin Moses Legends Meet in the women’s 400m hurdles race, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone revealed that she has been conserving her energy for the upcoming Olympic Games. Recovering from a knee injury, she even stepped down from participating in last year’s World Championships, but her focus has always remained on the coveted quadrennial event. While many fans have previously criticized her for choosing to compete only in events before championship meets, McLaughlin-Levrone has been clear about her stance on the matter. “I think just in a year like this, coming off injury last year, I just wanted to be safe,” she told FloTrack earlier in June.

Moreover, Sydney has also been highly vocal about how the world of track and field doesn’t offer a lot of money to the stars. With a desire to change the scenario for herself, the 400mH world record holder has been one of the first athletes to have been confirmed for track legend Micahel Johnson’s upcoming Grand Slam Track.

While her financial situation awaits improvement, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone must first focus on bringing glory from the French capital. The 24-year-old stands on the verge of the rare honor of winning gold medals in two consecutive Olympics in the same event.