Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s career may have gone through an initial roller coaster, but her love story is straight out of a fairy tale. Well, after her Paris success (where every event she touched turned gold), she flew off to Greece with her husband, Andre Levrone Jr., for a much-needed break. To her, it might have been a major ‘pinch-me’ moment, as only a few years ago, she was going through a rough patch during COVID when she had her ‘first date’ with him. And that had truly left her pleasantly surprised!

In her book, Far Beyond Gold: Running From Fear to Faith, Syndey McLaughlin-Levrone talks about meeting Andre for the first time while he visited Los Angeles for a meeting. The two met for dinner in Santa Monica, when Sydney first noticed his height and his Jordan sweatsuit. All this while she wanted to ask him, “You do know we’re on a date, right?”

But as it turns out, Andre had purposely opted for a casual meeting and his choice of an outfit, as he wanted Sydney to see him in what he’d be wearing on a normal day. She wrote, “He wanted to be a genuine version of his everyday self.” Later, as they sat down and the conversation started to flow, she felt, “I like this guy.” He had a great sense of humor and was very interested in what she’d been saying. However, within some time, she was left astounded!

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wrote in her book, “As the meal progressed, I kept thinking, ‘Where’s the flaw? What am I missing? Why is ‘Mr. Perfect’ still single? Something must be wrong with him.” She was flummoxed by how perfect he was! Well, Sydney confessed that she’d been heartbroken less than a year before meeting Andre and was terrified that it would recur. But she confesses, “I couldn’t see any red flags in Andre.”

Well, we have seen him show up in a ‘TEAM SYD’ t-shirt with the rest of her family at Stade de France. And it was right before Andre’s eyes that his wife, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, was crowned the 400m hurdles Olympic Champion. And part of that credit goes to him, as she once said, “He takes care of certain things for me on race day, which I really appreciate, so I can focus on what I got to do.”

He may not have been around when she hit rock bottom in her career, but he was sure there during the COVID phase. That was when the four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone turned to God to overcome the barriers in life.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s hit an all-time low

Despite making up her mind, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone faced defeat at the 2019 IAAF World Championships. By just 0.07 seconds, her compatriot, Daliha Muhammad, had won, pushing Sydney to rock bottom. “I didn’t want to hear the congratulations. I didn’t want to be told that I’d just run a brilliant race,” she said. An upset Sydney burst into tears the moment she saw her father in the tunnel.

Soon after that, the pandemic phase initiated, and the Tokyo Olympics got cancelled. This was when things got worse. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone resorted to therapy, hoping things would get better. But, as they say, it gets darkest before dawn. The American phenom then navigated the COVID lockdown with the help of steadfast support from God.

Yes, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wrote in her book, “I finally turned to God. He used the isolation of COVID and the recent heartaches in Doha and failed relationships to bring me to himself, so I could begin to understand how to make him the priority.” Thanks to that, she also connected with Andre.

She also wrote in her book how she started going to church after the World Championships. Thus, there was so much she couldn’t comprehend. But, when she started talking to Andre, they would read the Bible together, and he would stop every now and then to explain to her whatever they had read so far. Truly, Andre Levrone Jr. is Sydney’s perfect man! What do you think? Share your thoughts below!