Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone walked into the Paris Olympics as the clear favorite to claim back-to-back golds in the 400-meter hurdles. And why not? She’s spent the last few years turning world records into mere stepping stones on her way to greatness. Competitors have good reason to call her a generational talent, but let’s not forget that she has been coached by the absolute bests in the field — the likes of “mad scientist” Bob Kersee and Ralph Mann coming from a generation that brought down the sport to brass tacks — a generation of technical obsessives!

At the Olympic trials, she outdid herself by shattering her own world record for the fifth time with an astonishing 50.65 seconds. Naturally, one more extraordinary performance in Paris was only a matter of time. Sure enough, Sydney claimed the gold with a breathtaking time of 50.37 seconds, marking the sixth occasion of breaking the world record.

Next, running a blistering 47.70 split, Sydney literally ended the 4x400m relay in the second leg, leading the USA to an effortless gold. The 3:15.27 clocked by the team was just 0.1 seconds shy of the world record. The U.S. finished over 4 seconds ahead of second place, proving their dominance on the track! However, after her crowning moment in Paris, it seems Sydney is ready for a well-deserved break.

On August 15, Wanda Diamond League released the full schedule of the upcoming Lausanne Diamond League. The entry list of the 400m hurdles, set to be held on August 22nd, does not feature the name of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. However, Rushell Clayton and 400mH bronze medalist Femke Bol will be present. But could we not have anticipated this?

Notably, following her gold medal win at the Tokyo Olympics as well, she took some time away from the track, leaving everyone guessing about her next move. Now, it looks like she might be following a similar pattern, sparking doubts about how her season will unfold. In fact, she hasn’t participated in the Diamond League since 2019 and even missed the 2023 World Championships because of a knee injury. That knee issue kept her out of the 400-meter hurdles for nearly two years, leaving fans anxious about her fitness. She finally made a return to the track in the 100m hurdle event at the Mt. SAC Relays on April 20 and led the team to a second-place finish.

Having warmed up there, Sydney returned to individual competition at the Oxy Invitational on May 5. The event saw flashes of her brilliance as she won the 200-meter hurdles (22.38s) and clocked an impressive 10.71 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. Still, her absence from the 400-meter hurdles had everyone wondering whether she’d be ready for Paris. Her decision to withdraw from the 400-meter hurdles at the LA Grand Prix, choosing instead to compete in the 200m race, only fueled those doubts.

It wasn’t until May 31 at the Edwin Moses Legends Meet in Atlanta that she finally made her long-awaited return to the 400-meter hurdles. And dismissing the doubts about the Paris Olympics preparations, she ran a fabulous 52.70 seconds to set the world lead while also fulfilling the entry standards for the Pais Olympics.

The problem with exceeding expectations is that new ones take form in place of the older ones, and it can get quite unforgiving at times. Skeptics are everywhere, and even athletes with a clean Olympic track record aren’t spared a tad.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s fans try to crack the code behind her latest moves!

Track and field fans have had quite a mixed reaction to the news that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won’t be participating in the Lausanne Diamond League. One fan put up an interesting point. “She is not allowed to compete overseas unless it’s world champions or Olympics because Bobby Kersee hates the sport,” a user wrote. If we look at the race schedules of Sydney, there is every reason to say that she has been picky in the races she takes part.

Since becoming the 2021 400m hurdles Olympic champion, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has never competed in the 400m hurdles at a Diamond League meet. Last year, she only competed in the 400m at the Paris Diamond League leading to the U.S. Championships. In fact, this year, she did not participate in any Diamond League before the Olympics. At the Edwin Moses Legends Meet this year, Sydney hurdled for the first time since 2022 and she notched a 52.70 touching the Olympic qualifying mark for Paris. But one thing is notable here.

Sydney’s timing was nowhere close to her best timings. But that was not her inability to perform. Rather, it was a strategy of her coach Bobby Kersee. He had clearly stated that they treated the race as a practice run for Paris. The reduced time was to keep Sydney in “the safe zone” as they chose to run 15 steps between hurdles instead of her usual 14 steps. Notably, in a conversation with Citius Mag. Kersee thoroughly explained why he was” mostly averse to going overseas.

“I get criticized for not going to Europe but I coach United States athletes to put them on teams. You can go to Italy, France, Germany or whatever. Same thing – we can go to Atlanta, New York or wherever. For us, it’s a 14-hour or seven-hour time difference, language change and food change. It’s kind of difficult for us to go to Europe and base camp over there and then come back home and then make our American teams and stay healthy,” Kersee had argued. Still, the fans got the wrong side of things.

One fan quipped, “Sydney has gone back into hiding. She’ll be seeing you guys in Tokyo next year.” The user was referring to the World Athletics Championships 2025, which is slated to take place from September 13-21, 2025. One went even further writing, “She’s gonna disappear till big championships and LA28.” Such comments sparked a flurry of replies, with many rushing to defend the hurdler.

One countered, “Dude, it’s been 4 days since the Olympics lol. Give Sydney a few weeks off at least considering all those Olympic Golds,” referring to her victories in the Women’s 4x400m Relay and the Women’s 400m Hurdles.

Interestingly, In June, Sydney partnered with track legend Michael Johnson for his new Grand Slam Track Contest as its first racer, where she was expected to compete for a hefty $100,000 prize per slam. The event is scheduled to host its first event next April. “She’s [Sydney] one of those athletes that likes to race on the big stage. She loves it … So, when I presented this to her—telling her she would get that same sort of vibe, audience and grand scale four times a year—she was all about it,” Johnson had told.

Considering that, one fan weighed in with a jab at the Diamond League, saying, “Here you see DLs big problem, it’s just not relevant anymore.” This likely points to the modest $30,000 prize money compared to what Sydney could potentially earn from Michael Johnson’s tournament. While talking about her breaks, one has to consider an unmissable fact.

Although Sydney takes it slow, every time she has returned from a break, her performance has never faltered. And she has reaped equal success in different formats. Take the LA Grand Prix, for instance. Sydney’s victory in the 200m, with a personal best time of 22.07, was a shocker. And she did that by defeating a field that had runners like 2024 200m gold medalist Gabby Thomas and double relay world champion Abby Steiner.

Notably, despite earning the qualification for the Olympic trials on that occasion, Sydney stuck to her signature event of 400mH hurdles only. It seems it is Sydney’s strategy to amply rest herself between two high-intensity races, then priming herself with shorter distance runs. If that is true, then we have to accept that the strategy has paid her well in her trademark event. Still, some questioned her commitment.

One critic remarked, “This is why I’m just not a Sydney fan. I hardly see her competing, correct me if I’m wrong.” Some others poked fun at her record-breaking success, suggesting she might think she’s done enough for a while.

Meanwhile, others saw an opportunity—especially Femke Bol. One optimistic fan declared, “Time for Femke to dominate once again.” It’s intriguing that while McLaughlin-Levrone is taking a breather after Paris, Bol is already back in the competition. Notably, just before the Olympic 400mH final, Bol’s coach had indicated that she might also take part in 800m in the future. This comment might make one think that this move maximizes her medal-winning chances, especially after repeatedly being defeated by Sydney in the 400mH.

So, do you think that we can once again witness the rivalry between Sydney and Femke in the 2024 season? What’s your take on Sydney skipping the Lausanne Diamond League? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!