Being acknowledged on home soil is something everyone aspires to. For Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, it was just a matter of time. After her stimulating Parisian campaign, the hurdling specialist recently received a special nod of the hat from the University of Kentucky. While the Olympian continues to stay away from the competitive tracks after the conclusion of the 33rd Games, the Wildcats couldn’t help but bestow McLaughlin with a special honor.

A post by the official Kentucky Athletics on X from September 21, hailed McLaughlin-Levrone for her double title defense at the French capital last month. Captioned, “Welcome to the UK Athletics Hall of Fame, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone,” the post notes how the athlete left her competition in the dust in 2018. That year, the accompanying video highlights, the New Jersey native bagged both the SEC and NCAA titles, making her one of the greatest Wildcat freshmen of all time.

The video further lists the emphatic achievements McLaughlin has attained over the years, including the 400mH collegiate record that she holds. Naturally, her world record-setting 50.37 run at the 2024 Paris Olympics was a major highlight of the video, as the Wildcats made their pride in their alum evident in the video. All things considered, it should be surmised that McLaughlin-Levrone’s induction to the Kentucky Hall of Fame was long overdue.

The enigmatic star soaked in the atmosphere and the fans’ love at the Kroger Stadium yesterday, as the Wildcats took on the Ohio Bobcats in an SEC match, which the former won 41-6. For obvious reasons, McLaughlin’s presence, coupled with the team’s victory, made things all the sweeter for everyone present. Along with Sydney, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, another Wildcats alum and Olympic gold medalist, was also spotted at yesterday’s game as the two former collegiate teammates reveled in their shared glory. However, today’s monumental moment wasn’t the only time after the 2024 Games that McLaughlin-Levrone received a special honor.

Love pours in for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone from all corners of the world

The 25-year-old 4x Olympic gold medalist is often criticized by fans for not being seen at competitions frequently. The issue was again under the light as Levrone couldn’t compete at the 2024 Diamond League season-closer in Brussels earlier this month. It was revealed that she didn’t participate in enough Diamond League meets this season, and didn’t accumulate sufficient points to qualify for the finals. And yet, the folks over at Memorial Van Damme had to do something to proclaim their admiration of McLaughlin-Levrone’s impeccable performance at the Paris Games.

The organizers set up two special 200m and 400m races just to ensure McLaughlin could show up in Brussels and enthrall fans with her breakneck speed once again. While the track and field community isn’t used to seeing Sydney running the 400m flat, she made sure to go all in at the race. Clocking 22.40 and  49.11 in the 200m and 400m respectively, Sydney won both races but hinted that her running days might be nearing the end of the road. “…as much as I want to be serious and focused, I know that this time in my life is very short,” she said in the post-race interview.

While it’s yet to be seen which path McLaughlin takes in the coming days, fans will certainly have other things to look forward to as the Olympian’s name in the Wildcats history books gets cemented. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think this should have happened sooner? Tell us with a comment!