Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone competed in the 2016 Olympics when she was 16. Olympic champion McLaughlin-Levrone only made it to the semifinals, racing against far more experienced athletes, including the eventual champion. Following the 2016 Rio Olympics, the hurdler made it her life’s goal to beat the best.

So few expected McLaughlin-Levrone to beat the 2016 champion when they faced off at the Oslo Diamond League. Yet the rookie pro shocked the world, including the champion. “It was clear, even moments after the race, that Dalilah was not happy,” recalled the hurdler. However, the rookie’s joy would turn into disbelief just a month after the Oslo victory.

Why Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone lost to someone she already beat

After beating Dalilah Muhammad, the Olympian lost her way. “Maybe it was the hurdling problem… my young age. Maybe it was the newness of my current situation. Or maybe it was that old fear, that tendency to run from my problems, that made me complacent,” wrote the track and field icon.

“The reality was I brought it upon myself,” McLaughlin-Levrone wrote in Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith. The result was losing to Dalilah Muhammad at the 2019 USATF National Championship during the first heat. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recalled an NBC commentator labeling the 25-year-old as “the biggest prodigy in the history of the sport,” despite her loss. However, the four-time Olympic medalist knew that, despite finishing second, she had not trained enough.

After beating the Olympic champion in June, McLaughlin-Levrone started skipping practice. The athlete even labeled herself the “queen of excuses” in the book, saying she would give any and every excuse to skip practice. Meanwhile, the two-time Olympic medalist did the exact opposite, almost disappearing from the public’s view.

Muhammad didn’t plan on losing to the young hurdler in Oslo. So she ensured it wouldn’t happen again at the U.S. National Championships. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone discovered how she underestimated the Olympic gold medalist Dalilah Muhammad in the finals!

Things got much worse for McLaughlin-Levrone before getting better

In her book, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone admits she got a little too caught up in the excitement of being an Olympian at 16 and turning pro in 2018. Instead of focusing on training, she skipped way too many practice days—like 40 in a single season! She made all kinds of excuses, like her feet hurt or she wasn’t feeling well. Then in 2019, things got real.

At the 2019 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, despite losing to Muhammad in the heat, the Olympian was confident. After all, she didn’t have that big lead when they crossed the finish line. Plus, she was still reeling from her epic win over the Rio Olympics champion a month ago at the Diamond League’s Oslo Bislett Games. The now four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone couldn’t be more wrong. “From the opening gunshot, Dalilah went on a tear,” recounted the New Jersey native. Dalilah Muhammad was firmly in the lead even before the 100-meter mark.

While many may have thought the hurdler would burn out too quickly, the second-fastest woman in history didn’t let up. While Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone tried desperately to catch her rival, it didn’t happen. Instead, Dalilah Muhammad broke Yuliya Pechonkina’s 16-year record, clocking 52.20 to win the race. McLaughlin-Levrone’s 52.88-second run wasn’t even close.

“I was shocked. Stunned. Confused. Once I’d beaten Dalilah, I’d naively thought I knew what she had in the tank. Yet, she beat me. Not just beat me but demolished me,” wrote the hurdler. However, that loss jolted the Olympian back to reality. After the loss, she trained even harder, making exponential improvements. Five years later, McLaughlin-Levrone holds the world and Olympic record at 50.37 seconds.