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All About Track and Field Star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's Impressive Olympic Career
The sprinter and hurdler shattered her own record in the 400m hurdles in the finals, securing yet another gold medal.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has proved there’s no hurdle she can’t overcome — and in record-breaking time.
All eyes are on Olympic champion hurdler at Paris 2024 Olympics after she broke her own world record in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Olympic Trials in June. McLaughlin-Levrone sped past her competition to cross the finish line in just 50.65 seconds, setting a new world record for the event she loves, according to NBC News.
The Paris Summer Games mark the third Olympic appearance for McLaughlin-Levrone, who first burst onto the international track and field scene as a high school student. The New Jersey native was just 17 years old when she made her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics after qualifying in the 400m, according to WNBC. She’d take home two gold medals — one for the 400m hurdles and another for the 4x400 relay — five years later at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Now, she's leaving Paris with yet another Olympic gold medal after completing the 400m in record time, having crossed the finish line in 50.37 seconds.
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But McLaughlin-Levrone is more than just her impressive list of athletic achievements. She’s also a wife and author, who credits her success on and off the track to her close relationship with God.
How many records has Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broken?
McLaughlin-Levrone has made a habit of obliterating records. When she crossed the finish line at the Olympic Trials with her time of 50.65 on the 400m hurdles, she broke her world record for the fifth time, Forbes reported.
"Honestly, praise God, I was not expecting that," McLaughlin-Levrone said after yet again setting the new world record in June, according to USA Today. "Anything is possible in Christ. I’m just amazed, baffled and in shock."
The accomplished track star, who trains under legendary coach Bobby Kersee, has since beat her time yet again. She completed the 400m hurdles in 50.37 seconds at the Paris Olympics.
And McLaughlin-Levrone isn’t ready to just rest on her laurels any time soon. She told USA Today that she hopes to one day hit a time of less than 50 seconds in the 400m hurdles.
"It's really exciting, thinking about how to improve upon history," she shared. "That's always something I'm looking at."
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About Her Family
To find out where McLaughlin-Levrone’s unprecedented speed comes from, one doesn’t have to look far.
Her father, Willie McLaughlin, was a semifinalist in the 400m at the 1984 Olympic trials and was inducted into the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame for his own impressive speed, according to NBCOlympics.com. Her mother, Mary, was a high school track star in New York and her brother, Taylor McLaughlin, won a silver medal at the World U20 Championships and ran track for the University of Michigan.
"All of our kids are fairly talented," Willie said when Sydney was just 14 years old, according to WNBC. "But [Sydney's] a little special. We saw it coming. It was just a matter of time.”
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Who is Sydney's husband, Andre Levrone Jr.?
When she isn’t on the track, McLaughlin-Levrone enjoys spending time with her husband and former NFL player Andre Levrone Jr.. The pair tied the knot at the Early Mountain Vineyards in Virginia in 2022 after Levrone cleverly slid into the Olympian’s DMs, according to People.
Within days of meeting, McLaughlin-Levrone knew she’d found the one.
After playing for the Ravens, Panthers, and Jaguars, Levrone has put his own professional athletic pursuits aside, but continues to offer his wife all the support she needs on the track.
“He’s my biggest hype man for sure,” she said to People.
Having someone in her life that understands the demands on a professional athlete has been invaluable as she has trained for Paris.
"I'm so grateful for Andre because he understands the athlete life, the day-to-day, what it takes, and all the little things," she shared. "We're very similar just in how we're wired because of that, which helps us understand each other."
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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Chronicles Life in New Book
Earlier this year, McLaughlin-Levrone added another impressive line to her resume, that of author, after releasing her book, Far Beyond Gold: Running From Fear to Faith.
In it, McLaughlin-Levrone chronicles her record-breaking path to success along with her struggles along the way, like the anxiety she battled in Rio during her first Olympic appearance.
“When you see athletes, entertainers, performers, it's hard to relate to them at times. But I want people to know that now we all struggle,” she told Olympics.com. “We all have issues that we go through and battles that we're facing. And, you know, as a young girl, as a young woman, now, there are still things that you have to work through. And I think that authenticity is really what connects with people.”
The book also addresses her drive for perfection.
"I think when you're in a profession where you're fighting for gold, silver and bronze, it's always going to be an opportunity to look at yourself and want to be that perfect," she told People.
Her goal now is to “take it as it comes” and realize it’s all part of “God’s plan.”
Originally published Jul 18, 2024.
