Stade de France witnessed Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s  incredible skills during the 2024 Paris Olympics. In the 400m hurdles, her blistering 50.37 seconds lowered her own world record for the 6th time! But this wasn’t the only gold she walked away with. The Olympian returned to the tracks for the 4x400m relay, and her stellar split of 47.7 seconds gave Team USA a comfortable split. So, it’s obvious that the queen of hurdles receives a welcome worthy of that, isn’t it?

The University of Kentucky felt the same way. After a spectacular stint in the City of Light, her alma mater decided to bestow her with a special honor! The hurdler was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame on September 21st. However, while the 25-year-old basked in the glory, she decided to stop by for a football game between the Kentucky Wildcats and Ohio Bobcats. With the 4x Olympic gold medalist in the stands, Dane Key decided to tip his hat to her in true Wildcats style.

As the wide receiver approached the end zone, he leaped over an opponent to avoid getting tackled. NBC’s Travis Miller shared the iconic moment on X captioned, “The hurdle form! 👏” And we couldn’t help but agree! In fact, the Wildcats trumped the Bobcats 41-6. In a post-match interview, Key was asked what led him to make that play. “I did say if I was going to score, I would do a hurdle celebration,” he stated. However, he did end the day with 7 catches for 145 yards. 

But Dane Key clarified that even though he didn’t score, he still went ahead with it. With Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the stands, it only makes sense. He added, “I hope she saw it. I hope my form was pretty good.” Here’s to hoping that he receives a cheeky shoutout. But the hurdler hasn’t given the wide receiver a seal of approval for now. But she did share a few moments from her time in Kentucky on Instagram. 

The Olympian shared a few images with old college friends, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, and more, captioning, “Once a wildcat, always a wildcat! 💙😊” She looked like she had a great time, even sharing a few images and videos throughout the game on her stories. The 25-year-old continued, “Definitely bled blue while I was here, so much growth and adversity that led me to where I am now.” However, McLaughlin-Levrone ended it on a high note, simply stating, “Go cats. ✨” What did the track and field community think of the remarkable moment?

Track and field community goes ga ga over nod to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

Dane Key’s tribute to the queen of hurdles certainly didn’t go unnoticed! After Travis Miller shared the iconic moment, fans were over the moon. Track and field icon Michael Johnson chimed in, “Is it a coincidence UK alums and Olympic champion hurdlers Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone were both in the house today?” Just like McLaughlin-Levrone, Comacho-Quinn was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame too. 

One fan stated, “Sydney in attendance, it’s only right.“ We agree. Key couldn’t have found a better way to pay homage to the Olympian. Another fan agreed, “When you have Sydney and Jasmine in attendance you got to impress them.” While we didn’t see McLaughlin-Levrone’s reaction, we would go out on a limb and say she probably appreciated the nod.

A fan said what everyone was thinking, “Need Sydney’s reaction.” We couldn’t agree more. Dane Key hoped she saw it too. The fans need answers, stat! Another fan pointed out, “The man saw Sydney and JCQ in the building and knew he had to show out.” Who could blame him? You don’t have a 400m hurdles world-record holder in the stands every day, right?

One fan exclaimed, “I’d text Sydney after this like help me w that hurdle form?” We would love to watch the Olympian give him a few tips. Now, that would be an iconic moment! Regardless of whether this will happen, seeing a unique side of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was exhilarating. While usually stoic and poised on the tracks and in certain interviews, this Wildcat truly looked like she had a gala time. Do you think this was the perfect tribute for the Olympian?