“I think 400 hurdles is my bread and butter.” This is what Sydney McLaughlin Levrone had to say after she topped the 200m at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix. After her return from the career-threatening injury this year, she is yet to take part in her trademark 400m hurdles event that has brought her immense success. Instead, so far this year, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has competed in 100m hurdle and 200m sprinting contests, taking the top ranks each time.

Her performances in the 200m sprints has many believing that she should gun for double gold glory in Paris. But her comments about getting back to 400m mean that it is unlikely. However, it has not stopped track and field pundits from praising her performances in the 200m and suggesting that she could excel in the event in Paris as well. One such legend has backed Levrone to succeed even if the 200m field will pose a bigger challenge at the Games.

“Sky is the limit for her,” Former Olympic Champion backs Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

McLaughlin-Levrone kicked off her overtures on the stomping ground with the Mt. Sac Relays and finished strong. At the venerated Oxy Invitational, she clocked record best performances ever since returning to her form, with a time of 12.71 seconds in the 100m hurdles. Her 200m saw her outdoing herself with a whopping 22.38s.

Meanwhile, the track and field community took a serious note when her 200m timings challenged the heavy hitters like Sha’Carri Richardson.  Justin Gatlin, the former Olympic champion, holds a distinct respect for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. And it has certainly increased after the latter 200m appearances in Los Angeles this year. Eventually, in both of her 200m contests in LA, Sydney entered the sub-22 category, equaling the 200m regular sprinters, including Sha’Carri Richardson.

Remember, these had been the races where Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone apparently garnered less mastery compared to her hurdles. Eventually, in his talk show Ready Set Go, Justin Gatlin said, “they remember when Bobby(Kersee) said we’re coming for the world record in the 400 meter flat. Now all of a sudden she dropping these 22 O’s in the 200 meters and beating a real really solid field of 200 meter runners and he said look we going back to the 400m hurdles so we gonna see at the Olympics in the 400 hurdles.”

But Gatlin believes Levron can achieve much more. He added, “Sky’s the limit for her. I mean you running 22 and 0 against a very solid field. And you have one of the fastest times in the world right now and you want to go back into a race that you have previously dominated which you’re going to probably most likely smash a world record again at some point in time or she can drop down to the 400. Hell, the time she just ran the 200 I’ll put a little money on her too to go out there and win some races she got the mental toughness to get it done.”

The legend further added paid Levron a massive compliment, “Sub-22, it means she’s rocking with the likes of Shericka[Jackson], Elaine [Thompson-Herah], Sha’Carri [Richardson] Gabby[Thomas] You could put her in a star-studded lineup with these other females who are specialized in the 20om and she still may get the job done.” A comparative table showcasing the performances of these athletes adds to Gatlin’s argument.

Therefore, Justin Gatlin was quite on point in putting Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone with the ranks of Sha’Carri Richardson and others. But as per him, coach Bobby Kersee’s latest decision may bring a breather to the women sprinters in the 200m event. Coincidentally, despite Sydney’s rapid emergence in the 200m sprinting this year, her coach Bobby clarified that the 24-year-old will concentrate on the 400m hurdle solely for the upcoming Paris Olympics. 

Coming across this information Justin Gatlin emulated Sydney’s 200m opponents’ apparent emotions into words: “Another contender did not enter the ring. Okay got it”. That left a smile on the co-host Rodney Green’s face. But what does the 2-time Olympic champion think about her coach’s sudden decision? 

Kersee said McLaughlin-Levrone is going back to the hurdles this summer “because that’s her main event. That’s what we want to defend our Olympic championship in. I think Sydney’s love is the 400m hurdles, and so that’s the number one event. My job is to make sure that she gets ready for the one that she wants to do the most.”

McLaughlin-Levrone won the 400m hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics and has lowered the world record on four different occasions between 2021 and 2022. But fans still await her return to 400m hurdles having last competed in the disciple in August 2022.

A path to the glory from the nooks of uncertainty 

After giving her best performance in the 200m event in the LA Grand Prix this month, Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone remained focused on returning to her trademark 400m hurdles event. On this part, her argument remained, “I think 400 hurdles is my bread and butter. That’s what I’m most comfortable with, so we’re going to try to get back to that.” Surprisingly, this month she will return to the said event after a gap of 21 months. 

Her return to the 400mh event is set at the Edwin Moses Legends Meet on May 31. In the event, she popular by achieving both the world record and Olympic gold. But she has yet to call herself the perfect candidate for the 400mh event for the upcoming days. Levrone will be trying her hand at her forte, the 400m hurdles at the Olympic trials with full verve and passion.

She has also not given it her all since her epoch-defining performance in Eugene in the 2022 World Athletics Championships. This was also a defining moment in her illustrious career as she secured her third world title with a close margin of 50.68.

Cut to 2023, Levrone blazed to victory with another discernably wonderful timing at the open 400m. Laser focused on impending glory, she recorded a time of 48.74.

Rather, Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone believes her further success depends on “how do I [Sydney] get as close to perfect as possible.” But she is happy with her advancement and earnings this year. The continuous improvement in the 200m and 100m hurdles has given her an edge over the others. Considering those things, the former world champion added, “Obviously, there are things I can always work on, but I think for a PR and second 200m this year, [I] can’t complain.”

The behemoth Games might be witness to an impeccably fiery showdown between Femke Bol and Levrone herself. Both top-notch phenoms in the 400m hurdles, Bol made her 2023 as nimble and quick footed as can be, lowering her PR quite a few times too. A reduction from 52.27 to 51.45 along with a title win at Budapest has placed her on the highest pedestal there can be and it’s up to Sydney Levrone to challenge her and cement herself as the top name once again? Plausible? The coming months will lay testament to that.