Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is already done, it seems! After earning two Olympic golds at just her third event, the champion has allegedly called it a season. Her absence at the Silesia Diamond League only fueled the rumor mill further. However, as fans expressed their disappointment, retired sprinter Justin Gatlin came to the 25-year-old’s defense.

Having been very familiar with rival Usain Bolt’s approach, Gatlin drew parallels between the two champions. “I mean, I’ve kind of been there before, bro. Like, you gotta remember that when Bolt got to a certain level, he didn’t run that many races anymore. He only ran when it counted,” Justin Gatlin said during the podcast. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s dominance in the hurdles is no less than what Usain Bolt did in the 100m and 200m events.

Justin Gatlin reminded fans that Usain Bolt also focused on major events like the Olympics, Nationals, and World Championships. The fifth-fastest man in history hinted that the dual gold medalist from Paris, like Bolt, saved her best performances for the biggest stages.

To put things into perspective, the Queen of Hurdling has dominated the event since 2021. Starting with a time of 51.90 seconds that year, the four-time Olympic gold medalist has astonishingly broken her own record five times over the years. McLaughlin-Levrone set a new World and Olympic record in Paris, clocking a blistering 50.37 seconds. With such dominance also comes a downside, which was further elaborated during the discussion by Bahamian sprinter Rodney Green.

“You gonna get bored of that Sydney winning everything. Sydney win every race. You gonna get bored of it to the point where her time is not even gonna affect you anymore. You’re gonna be like, ‘Oh, she just ran 51.8?’ You know what I’m saying?” He also advised the community to let the star athlete do her thing and be unique as she “clearly trains with the intent to go out and break a world record”.But not resting since Paris is Levrone’s arch-rival Femke Bol, which might explain her recent heartbreaks.

While she roared into the record books with a personal best of 50.95 seconds at Silesia and avenged her loss to Anna Cockrell, the Dutchwoman is still chasing the benchmark set by McLaughlin-Levrone. But is the 24-year-old overworked?

Gatlin’s argument lent more weight to Rodney Green’s analysis of the 400m hurdles at the Olympics.

Was Green right about Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone vs. Femke Bol?

“It’s not the race and result I came for and that hurts,” said Bol after earning 400m Hurdles bronze. Despite surging into the lead for the first half of the race, the star from the Netherlands faded by the end. While McLaughlin-Levrone celebrated another win, her rival broke down in tears. However, Rodney Green argued that Bol may have overexerted herself ahead of the crucial race.

During her first event in Paris, Femko Bol stunned Team USA to win gold for the Dutch mixed relay team. However, Green argued that the epic closing leg sapped most of Bol’s energy. “Not giving her any excuses, but you know you go in into that type of wheelhouse at the beginning of the Olympics, it take something out of your legs…I think her legs might have been a little spent,” the host said during the Ready Set Go podcast.

With Justin Gatlin’s argument in favor of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and the fact that Bol comfortably beat Anna Cockrell, Green’s analysis appears even stronger. What are your views? Should Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone compete more often, or do you prefer to see her save her best for the biggest events?