Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was not ready to compete in the Olympics. The 25-year-old record-breaking athlete was just a teenager when she got the tag of an Olympian for the first time. Almost a decade has passed since then. Now, the name Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has already cemented a place in history as one of the greatest athletes of all time. 

With a stellar performance in Paris 2024, she not only claimed her second consecutive Olympic gold in the 400m hurdles but also shattered the world record yet again. Clocking an unthinkable time of 50.37 seconds, McLaughlin-Levrone broke the record for the sixth time. However, the journey to her latest victory has been anything but straightforward.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s evolution from a fearful teen in Rio to a seasoned champion in Paris

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone began her Olympic journey as a 17-year-old prodigy at the 2016 Rio Games. Thrown onto the world stage with little preparation, the young hurdler was overwhelmed by the experience. Moreover, without much knowledge of the competitive realm, the situation came unprecedented to the teenage athlete 8 years ago. And she failed to make the world aware of her true prowess. 

Finishing fifth in her semifinal, Rio served as a harsh introduction to the world’s most elite competition. Recently, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was caught in a candid conversation at the Jennifer Hudson Show, where she had an unfiltered conversation on the same with the host. When Jennifer asked her to compare her experience of competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics, Sydney threw light on the challenges she faced. 

McLaughlin-Levrone confessed, “At Rio, I was 17 years old and was thrown into the world stage not knowing what to expect.” Competing as a young athlete, she felt that she wasn’t fully ready for the global stage. However, it was the same experience that later turned out to be the foundational ground for the unbeatable champion she has bloomed into. “I think I’ve learned so much since then that now I can understand what it takes to compete at this level”, acknowledged the hurdler after breaking her own record for the fifth time.

Besides sharing how unprepared she was for Rio, Sydney also acknowledged another truth. She stated that her Olympic debut lessons prepared her to add the feathers to her hat in the following years. “I think that experience and that Tokyo as well just kind of prepared me for Paris.”, reflected McLaughlin-Levrone. By the time the Tokyo 2020 Olympics came around, McLaughlin-Levrone had already evolved into a world-class athlete. However, the situation during the pandemic period wasn’t befitting for an athletic meet.

How McLaughlin-Levrone transforms every race into a practice for Olympic Gold

Despite the absence of a live crowd during the COVID-inflicted time, Sydney still delivered one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history. She shattered the 52-second barrier and grabbed her first gold. However, it wasn’t until Paris 2024, in front of a roaring crowd of 70,000, that she felt the full gravity of her achievements. For her, the Paris quest was the “real” Olympic experience. “This was my first full real Olympics, I feel like, so I was ready for it”, stated the track queen.

What sets McLaughlin-Levrone apart is not just her impeccable speed, rather it’s her mindset. She never creates any disparity among the athletic meets she attends. Sydney treats every step she takes on the competitive track as nothing more than just a practice session. She confessed, “It’s just like we’ve practiced a million times.”

In a similar manner, the New Jersey-born track star treats each race as a new challenge. She focused on treating Paris like her first-ever Olympic final, keeping her nerves in check and her goals clear. “I treat every meet like its own, so, this was my first time in Paris racing for this Olympic gold. I was just treating it like this was my first time here, and, trying to go for it the same way.” Despite already being a champion, she raced with the hunger of an athlete chasing their first gold. It is this attitude of hers that has propelled her into a league of her own.