Shocking Empty Stands for USA’s Olympics Hope Sydney McLaughlin’s Debut After Nearly 2 Years Raises Concerns

It is an affront to the very nature of professional athletes if there are hardly any resounding cheers or ardent sycophants to egg them on to glory. Conversely, two race titles were won by 400-meter world champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the Oxy Invitational, but there was a slight caveat. The mood wasn’t quite celebratory, with only a few people cheering in the stadium. The Olympian is merely 14 days away from the most anticipated 400m hurdles where she’ll expectedly make her outdoor event debut in 20 months. Midway through the 2023 season, McLaughlin-Levrone announced her withdrawal from the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, citing a “minor knee injury.”

The 24-year-old, however, is eager to start her Olympic stint in Paris and reaffirmed “I just want to be better than I was in Tokyo.” The double Olympic gold medalist is a mainstay on the stomping grounds, but her most recent showing saw a rather dismal turnover. This is a double whammy and quite a blow to her ego considering that she is back for more than 2 long years. But the champion is not one to back down because of miniscule setbacks.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s maiden voyage in 2024 saw a dearth of cheery onlookers

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the 100m and 200m individual hurdle races at the Oxy Invitational in Los Angeles on Saturday, May 4. With a time of 12.71 seconds, she won the 100-meter hurdles event, falling only 0.06 seconds short of her personal best from 2021. Followed by the 200m event victory where she clocked a wind-aided 22.38 s.

Fans have been waiting a long time for her individual event debut in the outdoor season. Since winning the Gyulai István Memorial in August 2022, the reigning Olympic champion has not performed in the event. Ever since, she has prioritized her recovery, causing her to miss both the indoor season and the 2024 preseason. While one can contend with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s case as it’s a pretty common sight to perform in front of empty seats, jeering crowds and the like, Noah Lyles’ Tokyo Olympics showing too had similar undertones to it.

Noah Lyles’ Tokyo Olympics silent audience callout is a burgeoning problem

Noah Lyles lent his credence and vocal stance on the fact that the Tokyo stadium was filled to the brim. Or was it? Despite spectators being present, Lyles had his gripe with the fact that he would much rather pick an empty stadium over one that was bursting at the seams with fans who were mum. While this phenomenon has trickled down into 2024, with Levrone catching the short end of the stick, how long will it persist? 2021 had reasonable cause for defense as it was when COVID-19 was at an all-time high, but what’s the excuse now? “No chanting, no cheering – that kind of sucks,” – was what Noah Lyles bemoaned, and it was completely understandable where he was coming from. “It would kind of be better if there weren’t fans if that is what they are going to continue with” – he went on, owing to safety measures and fans tuning in from the comfort of their humble abodes.

He further also proclaimed, visibly disheartened, that it is indeed a massive dent to one’s competitive spirit to perform in front of empty seats. “I’ve competed in a stadium where the audience was silent and it was extremely weird, I think I would rather have nobody there” – Noah Lyles said too, a problem that is much too common nowadays. With the behemoth games at stake and Team USA’s sweetheart Levrone battling it out, despite a paucity of fans, she trudges along with resilience.

Laser focused on the Olympic comeback

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is eager to kick off her Olympic journey in Paris with an attempt at reliving her remarkable memories from the last Olympics. At the 2020-21 Tokyo Olympics, she broke the world hurdle mark with 50.68 seconds. When talking about her Summer Olympics goals, she told NBC News, “I just want to be better than I was in Tokyo. Improve upon myself. I don’t know what event I’ll possibly be doing, but just represent Team USA very well,” further adding “Paris is a dream come true.”

The American track and field sensation will compete in the 400-meter hurdles on Saturday, May 18, at the 2024 USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix, according to Olympics.com. And will be up against fellow compatriot Anna Cockrell and former world record holder Dalilah Muhammad in the event.