In 2023, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone had been nowhere near entering the World Athletics Championships. Despite having a profound chance of winning big, the hurdler had to back out from the pool. The reason? Her ‘minor knee issue’ haunted her. She wasn’t ready to put her body at risk, especially before the Paris Olympics season. In her press release, the Olympian put special stress on that segment and concluded her remark by saying, “I look forward to seeing everyone back on the track soon!” Well, she made her comeback almost a year later. But a few fans would remember her facing almost a similar situation in 2022! 

At that moment as well, Sydney’s WAC participation was at stake. Even the contributing reasons had almost been the same. Yet the New Jersey native managed to get a better hold of the situation and competed in the Eugene World Athletics Championships. How? Let’s explore that situation. 

The double whammies put the Olympic champion to a test

In her book, Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone revealed a few things regarding her situation before the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Notably, in 2022, Sydney started her track season by competing in the 100m hurdles in The Penn Relays Carnival. It was at the end of April. However, at the beginning of the same month, she faced a question mark on her fitness. As per her, with her coach Bobby Kersee, she started to work on some ‘sprint-based techniques.’ The change had been outright visible, but the dark patches followed. In her book, SML narrated it, penning, “I noticed a disturbing feeling in my hamstring. The muscle was tight, but not just cramping tight; it felt stuck.” The situation started to take a toll on her mental state. How? She began to consider the possibility of ending up like her brother, Taylor. But what happened to her brother? 

Just like Sydney, her brother, Taylor takes a keen interest in the 400m hurdles event. He had been even set to compete in the 400m hurdles trials for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. But his pulled hamstring put a dent in his dreams. He didn’t have any role in causing this injury. Yet in the training schedule, Taylor faced the bane, and it kept him out of contention for two long years. He made his comeback in 2023. But he had already lost his chance to fulfill his childhood dream of entering the Olympics. For him, the shape of his dreams changed forever. This situation taught Taylor’s sister a few lessons. 

In her book, she noted down those as, “Seeing my brother work so diligently to get his body healthy reminded me that this sport is a waiting game, a test of patience. Waiting for results, waiting for healing, waiting for a chance to get back out there.” Meanwhile, she implemented the lesson in her healing process and explored the reason for her injury.

The medical tests claimed it to be sciatic nerve entrapment. It would take careful handling to heal it. But in the middle of the track and field season, sitting duck may not have been suitable for the reigning Olympic champion. So? Meanwhile, Sydney followed the lead of the lesson she learned. 

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone followed the unconventional way to heal herself 

After discovering the reasons causing her hamstring issue, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and her support staff knocked on every gate. She applied all those common therapies, such as ‘wrapping tight bands around her hamstring, dry needling, and shockwave therapy’ to lose the entrapment. But nothing worked. The absence of a solution almost made her bang her head on the wall. But in a critical moment, Sydney started to solve the riddle. She had to follow in her brother’s footsteps without missing a piece. 

In her book, the four-time Olympic champion wrote, “Taking more days off than I would have liked. Not push myself on the days I did train. And fighting, day after day, to have the right attitude, to trust the process, and trust the Lord now that a lot of ambiguity surrounded my season.” So she had to bank on patience to heal her injury. However, she followed, and in April 2022, she took a leave from the track duties. 

On April 30, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone returned and won the 100m hurdles event. In the next three months, she attempted almost 10 races, winning them all. However, in 2023, Sydney again had the injury problems. But she didn’t remain meek this time. In 2024, she made her comeback and revealed a few more things about her performance despite having relentless battles with her injuries. In an interaction, Sydney said, “So it’s really just executing. It may look easy, but I promise you it hurts, and it’s a lot of focus and hard work.” Three years later, the former world champion still remembered the value of patience.