Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is a champion. But sometimes, even champions can feel vulnerable and want a pillar to hold onto. Standing in 2024, McLaughlin-Levrone is the undisputed queen of the tracks. But going back to Tokyo, her slate was empty. While she was still a favorite to win the Olympic gold, McLaughlin-Levrone was just a promising young athlete. Thus, as the heat in Tokyo approached fast, the 25-year-old began to feel the jitters. Having suffered some humiliating losses against her arch-rival Dalilah Muhammad, the onus was on McLaughlin-Levrone to change the narrative once and for all. 

But she had a little situation to deal with. In her book, ‘Far Beyond Gold’, the 25-year-old stated that her specialist coach, whom she had consulted to fine-tune her techniques, did not accompany her to Japan. After her consecutive losses to Muhammad, the 25-year-old consulted Bob Kersee, the coach of the famous track star, Florence Griffith Joyner. Unfortunately, Coach Bobby still did not have his passport ready. Hence, he couldn’t come until McLaughlin-Levrone’s second heat.

As a matter of fact, running the second heat in pouring rain, McLaughlin-Levrone felt down and out. Recalling the experience in her book, the 4x Olympic gold medalist said, “By the time they went around the track and it was my heat’s turn, the rain was a torrent. It’s a hurdler’s worst nightmare.”

But first, let’s concentrate more on the challenge she faced in her first heat. Having to go through her initial heat alone, the current track queen had difficulty sleeping. And when she dozed off, her alarm jolted McLaughlin-Levrone back to reality as she had to run a 9 am race.

Coming down to the hallway, McLaughlin-Levrone was happy to see Team USA head coach Mike Holloway greeting her. However, with the butterflies in her stomach, McLaughlin-Levrone decided to quietly warm up and wait for her turn to run. Finally, the time came and the gunshots reverberated within the empty arena. Soon, McLaughlin-Levrone’s worst nightmare started coming true. Due to COVID, the 400mH queen did not compete in professional races much. 

As a result, McLaughlin-Levrone had a slow start. Despite pushing through all the physical and mental hurdles, the 4x Olympic gold medalist did manage to make it to the next round. And much to her excitement, she found her coach Bobby right on the tracks, setting up the hurdles as usual. Well, now that all the boxes were ticked, nothing could go wrong, thought McLaughlin-Levrone. Well, she miscalculated a bit.  

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone drenched in track and field glory

It was an immense relief for McLaughlin-Levrone watching Bob Kersee ready to guide her once again. While they discussed the not-so-good initial heat, coach Bobby had some important tips to pass on to his student. Analyzing McLaughlin-Levrone’s technique, Kersee opined, “You’re going to get your rhythm through the first four hurdles… Then you’re going to start your push at the midway point, and we’re going to qualify with the fastest time.” Now, this seemed like quite a straightforward approach. But more obstacles were waiting to come McLaughlin-Levrone’s way. 

As soon as she went to the ground for her heat, she found out that the sky was tearing up. With the downpour getting intense with each passing moment, a swarm of thoughts crossed the Olympian’s mind. A wet track is an athlete’s worst nightmare. One slip and a fall can not only crush the Olympic dreams, but can also potentially result in a career-threatening injury. But despite all the negatives crossing her mind, McLaughlin-Levrone was focused. On being given the option to wait till the rain subsided, McLaughlin-Levrone firmly wanted to have a go. 

Once in the rain, she understood that apart from the risk of slipping, the pouring rain was stabbing her eyes, blurring her vision. But the zeal for greatness was too much for McLaughlin-Levrone to ignore. Remembering coach Bobby’s training and using all her experience, she pushed through without an incident to the finish line. And the result? Well, just as Kersee had predicted. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone qualified for the finals, recording the fastest time. Now, we all pretty much know what happened from here. 

Competing in the 400-meter hurdle and the 4x400m relays, McLaughlin-Levrone secured gold medals in both categories. Following up in Paris, she once again replicated her performance, taking her Olympic gold tally to 4. Thus, fighting through all the odds, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s ascension to the track and field summit is truly an inspiring tale.